Humming-bird Hawk-moth

Macroglossum stellatarum

Species ID / Humming-bird Hawk-moth

Andrew Cooper

Ervin Szombathelyi

Leigh Prevost

Adam Gor

Andrew Cooper

Identification Tip

Resembles a hummingbird as it flits between flowers. Wings are greyish-brown (front) and orange-brown (hind), with a black and white chequered body. Resembles a hummingbird as it flits between flowers.

What do they eat?

Caterpillars munch on:

Hedge Bedstraw
Lady’s Bedstraw

Adults feed on a range of flowers including:

Lilac
Jasmine
Phlox
Petunias

Where does it spend the winter?

Humming-bird Hawk-moths are migrants, most of whom fly into the UK from Southern Europe and North Africa. Occasionally, instead of flying away again, the adult moths will stay for the winter, hibernating in unheated outbuildings as well as hollows in trees and walls.