The humble hummingbird hawkmoth is a small day-flying sphinx moth that hovers at flowers like a hummingbird while sipping nectar. It lives in East and Southeast Asia, including Korea and Japan, and is not found in the United States.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A small hawkmoth with a wingspan of about 1.6–2 in (40–52 mm). The head, thorax, and front of the abdomen are covered in yellowish hair, and the rear of the abdomen is black. The forewings are dark brown with two black bands.
Where it lives
- Range
- Nepal, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, with a single record from the Russian Far East; also northern Thailand, northern Vietnam, and the Philippines. It does not occur in North America.
Behavior
- Diet
- Adults drink nectar from many kinds of flowers. In South Korea it has been recorded piercing yuzu (Citrus junos) fruit, but only as a minor pest.
- Activity
- It flies by day. In Hong Kong it has been seen visiting flowers mostly at dawn and in the late afternoon.
Life cycle
- Caterpillar food plants
- Caterpillars feed on plants in the coffee family, including madder (Rubia) and skunkvine (Paederia).
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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