Nature is weird, new one to me!

[H20fwler]

Had this working flowers at the house, at first I thought it was a male hummingbird we have a feeder out and we see them a few times a day. It wasn't scared at all or moving quite as fast as hummingbirds usually do zipping all around.
Looking at the pic I was really stumped had to look it up....a hummingbird bee! I had not even ever heard of that before...still don't understand the advantage of an insect looking like a bird?

 

[Merle Hawggard]

Looks like a hummingbird moth. Not sure if that is the correct name or the Arkansas name, however.
They absolutely love our 4 o'clocks.

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[H20fwler]

Looks like a hummingbird moth. Not sure if that is the correct name or the Arkansas name, however.
They absolutely love our 4 o'clocks.

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Yep that's it!

 

[Catscratch]

We have them around when I have a good stand of flowers.
Why an insect would benefit from looking like a bird? Most birds eat insects, but only a few eat other birds. Probably a pretty good plan to look like your biggest predator. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :)

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[IkemanTx]

We always see those on the moon plants (also called sacred thorn apple). The blooms don’t ope until right at dusk, and the hummingbird moths will frequent them almost nightly.


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[S.T.Fanatic]

We have tons of them on our valley property. A 37 acre portion is planted into NWSG and wild flowers that they pollinate.

 

[Bill]

Never knew such a thing existed.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Never knew such a thing existed.

Much like a sasquatch or chupacabra, they are endemic to certain regions

Both thrive in zone 8a-b

bill

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Much like a sasquatch or chupacabra, they are endemic to certain regions

Both thrive in zone 8a-b

bill

https://www.wtip.org/minnesota-group-forms-pursuit-bigfoot

Remer Mn. has a annual Bigfoot days festival every July.

 

[Telemark]

Last week my wife started slinging paint everywhere trying to use a paintbrush to swat at what she thought was a wasp. It was a "flower fly", which has black and yellow stripes like a bee.

 

[NEBUCKS]

You saying hummingbird reminded me. I was fishing in New Mexico, middle of the lake... in a boat. A hummingbird wouldn't leave me alone he wanted to perch on my fishing pole this went on for 20 minutes.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Another - probably older - name for that thing is a hawk moth. We have 'em here in the wife's flowers too. And they're in the same exact flowers as in your pic H20 !! Phlox are the flowers. My wife has those flowers too. Those moths look like a crayfish with wings - sort of. A mutation for an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Totally harmless, despite the looks.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Those moths are usually real spooky. If you can get close enough to one feeding, it's cool to watch them stick their proboscis into the flowers. They usually fly as I approach them.