4 ms·

Moths are aliens in their looks and vast diversity. My backyard favorite is hummingbird hawk-moth.

throwup238 2y ago
I'm partial to the Death's-head Hawkmoth and the Ceanothus Silkmoth.
steve_adams_86 2y ago
I saw those for the first time in 2022 and I was amazed that it existed. What a strange creature. I thought it was actually a hummingbird at first, and then its details emerged to me and I realized what I was seeing. So strange. And huge, for a bug! It was cruising around at dusk feeding on nectar.
- undebuggable 2y ago
  The moth is large for a bug, and hummingbird is tiny for a bird. It takes some time to realize what we're looking at.
somishere 2y ago
I've heard of these, they sound amazing! We get the odd Hercules moth in our backyard. Doesn't look anything like a bird close up, but it's so massive that when they get stuck in the house your first thought is that it's a bird or bat. Another cool thing we get is jumping spiders that imitate ants so they can hunt them - both green ants (an endemic weaver ant we get here) and another large metallic silver ant species I don't know a lot about. The spiders share the colouring of each species and walk backwards amongst them - their walking style changes and the abdomen looks like the head of the ant. They're rare, I've only observed them a couple of times over the years here, but it's wild to watch them do their thing.
justincormack 2y ago
they are great, but only seen them in my front yard, and abroad.
doodlebugging 2y ago
I believe the hawk moths are the moths that metamorphose from tomato and tobacco hornworm caterpillars. The moths are great pollinators so they are very good to have around the garden. I have seen them hitting everything from datura to yucca blooms. If you find hornworms eating your tomatoes you may be tempted to squash them. Instead of doing that you can remove them and put them to work on any other plant in the Solanacea family like peppers, potatoes, eggplants, or better yet put them on some jimsonweed, or one of the other weeds in the nightshade (Solanacea) family or some of the nettles.
- undebuggable 2y ago
  Having vegetables and flowers in the garden guarantees a spectacle, assuming you're ready to sacrifice at least some of the vegetables ;)
  - doodlebugging 2y ago
    Exactly. This is why we overplant dill and tomatoes. We know we're gonna see lots of butterfly and moth traffic so we plant enough and spread it around the garden area so that we still have some available for ourselves. We have a great diversity of bugs, birds, and things on our place so I try to make it as welcoming as possible by planting and maintaining the areas around each garden area with native plants, flowers, and grasses so throughout the season we have lots of activity as new vegetables or fruits bloom in turn. I keep several solar fountain pumps running so that any animals, or insects have a water hole they can depend on. I'm on top of a limestone outcrop here but this year I have my first Leopard frog in one of my fountains. All the fountains are regular gathering spots for yellowjackets, red wasps, bumblebees and other bee types. There's plenty for the frog and the toads on the ground to enjoy. I don't mind sacrificing any of it as long as it isn't food for grasshoppers. Screw those guys.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - undebuggable 2y ago

I'm partial to the Death's-head Hawkmoth and the Ceanothus Silkmoth.

I saw those for the first time in 2022 and I was amazed that it existed. What a strange creature. I thought it was actually a hummingbird at first, and then its details emerged to me and I realized what I was seeing. So strange. And huge, for a bug! It was cruising around at dusk feeding on nectar.

undebuggable 2y ago
The moth is large for a bug, and hummingbird is tiny for a bird. It takes some time to realize what we're looking at.

somishere 2y ago

I've heard of these, they sound amazing! We get the odd Hercules moth in our backyard. Doesn't look anything like a bird close up, but it's so massive that when they get stuck in the house your first thought is that it's a bird or bat. Another cool thing we get is jumping spiders that imitate ants so they can hunt them - both green ants (an endemic weaver ant we get here) and another large metallic silver ant species I don't know a lot about. The spiders share the colouring of each species and walk backwards amongst them - their walking style changes and the abdomen looks like the head of the ant. They're rare, I've only observed them a couple of times over the years here, but it's wild to watch them do their thing.

justincormack 2y ago

they are great, but only seen them in my front yard, and abroad.

doodlebugging 2y ago

I believe the hawk moths are the moths that metamorphose from tomato and tobacco hornworm caterpillars. The moths are great pollinators so they are very good to have around the garden. I have seen them hitting everything from datura to yucca blooms. If you find hornworms eating your tomatoes you may be tempted to squash them. Instead of doing that you can remove them and put them to work on any other plant in the Solanacea family like peppers, potatoes, eggplants, or better yet put them on some jimsonweed, or one of the other weeds in the nightshade (Solanacea) family or some of the nettles.

undebuggable 2y ago
Having vegetables and flowers in the garden guarantees a spectacle, assuming you're ready to sacrifice at least some of the vegetables ;)
- doodlebugging 2y ago
  Exactly. This is why we overplant dill and tomatoes. We know we're gonna see lots of butterfly and moth traffic so we plant enough and spread it around the garden area so that we still have some available for ourselves. We have a great diversity of bugs, birds, and things on our place so I try to make it as welcoming as possible by planting and maintaining the areas around each garden area with native plants, flowers, and grasses so throughout the season we have lots of activity as new vegetables or fruits bloom in turn. I keep several solar fountain pumps running so that any animals, or insects have a water hole they can depend on. I'm on top of a limestone outcrop here but this year I have my first Leopard frog in one of my fountains. All the fountains are regular gathering spots for yellowjackets, red wasps, bumblebees and other bee types. There's plenty for the frog and the toads on the ground to enjoy. I don't mind sacrificing any of it as long as it isn't food for grasshoppers. Screw those guys.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - undebuggable 2y ago