Hummingbird Hawk-Moth vs Marbled Minor

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Hummingbird Hawk-Moth Marbled Minor
Scientific Name Macroglossum stellatarum Oligia strigilis
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Sphingidae Noctuidae
Size 40-50 mm wingspan 24-28 mm wingspan
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Nectar Feeders Root Feeders
Regions Europe, Asia, Africa Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Hummingbird Hawk-Moth

A day-flying moth that hovers at flowers and produces an audible hum, almost perfectly mimicking a hummingbird. Has exceptional visual memory for flower locations.

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Did You Know?

This moth can remember the locations of hundreds of individual flowers and times its visits to when nectar is replenished — a memory feat unmatched by most insects.

Marbled Minor

A small, cryptically marked moth that is extremely variable in pattern. Part of a complex of similar-looking species that can only be reliably separated by dissection.

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Did You Know?

Part of a notoriously difficult species complex where three species look almost identical.