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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Chris Baraniuk

‘Grey lump with orange wings’: hummingbird hawk-moths descend on UK gardens

A hawk-moth with orange, yellow, and black wings hovers mid-flight with extended proboscis near buddleia flowers
Luke Burstow spied the hummingbird hawk-moth enjoying buddleia flowers in his garden in Sussex. Photograph: Luke Burstow

He had just sat down to dinner in the garden when a speedy visitor whizzed by – a “grey lump with orange wings”, recalled Luke Burstow, from Sussex. It was a hummingbird hawk-moth, a flying insect that migrates to the UK from continental Europe and north Africa.

“I was like: ‘Wow!’,” said the software project manager. “I didn’t even know they existed.”

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