Is your tongue as long as this hummingbird moth’s tongue? (This might be a trick question.)
The answer is, most likely, yes! (No, I wasn’t going to say, “Well, it’s technically a proboscis…”). The human tongue is around 10-cm long, and this moth’s “tongue” was a few centimeters less than that. So the real question is, is your tongue as long as your body? I hope not.
The name, hummingbird moth, can refer to several different kinds of these large moths. This particular one is a White-lined Sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) and had a wingspan of about 10 cm.
These moths drink nectar while hovering, like a hummingbird. I thought they were only active in the evening until I saw this one and a few others around midday. They were all attracted to the soapwort.
I think this would be called “flying casual.” The moth makes drinking from a tiny hole with a giant straw look effortless.
Okay, so maybe it doesn’t have perfect aim. It could have fooled me.
If there’s a moral to this story, it’s that unless you’re a huge moth, don’t drink and fly.
MACRO MYSTERY #3 REVEAL
Here’s last week’s post if you didn’t get a chance to guess.
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This time we had a correct guess of “not a sign.” (See, this isn’t so difficult!) More specifically, this non-sign was a pack of tropical-twist-flavored gum. The macro was of the part of the package where it says, “Not a significant source of other nutrients.”
MACRO MYSTERY #4
Let’s try an object that’s hopefully more recognizable. See if you can tell what it is from the cropped clue before scrolling to the full clue. Ready? Go!
Full clue below…
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Do you recognize this object? You can write your guess(es) in the comment section below. The answer will be revealed next week!
Also, congratulations if you noticed the font is larger and the sidebar is now on the right side (you’d have to be on the non-mobile version). I’m still experimenting with the blog format.
Here is the Macro Mystery #4 reveal!