May 9, 2004

I'm hoping someone out there can help me with this one.

Sunday night at dusk a moth (I assume it was a moth) was darting around one of the Azaleas in my yard. As I watched, it began to move from blossom to blossom, getting nectar, and hovering just as a Hummingbird would. A second Moth of the same species soon joined it.

They were a little smaller than a Hummingbird, light cream in color, with narrow stripes around the body. I never did get a look at the pattern on their wings because they were just a blur like a Hummingbird and never landed while I was watching. Their face and head was also striped, but length wise like a Savannah Sparrow. They also had a proboscis much the size of the Hummingbird's beak.

This was truly amazing to see. I'm always impressed in the variety of creatures out there, and the way they fill every niche in nature. Let me know what I saw if you can and any I.D. book titles that might cover this moth would also be helpful.

Thank you in advance.

Pat Esterly

Cinebar,WA