Hummingbird hawk-moth

Macroglossum stellatarum Today, 3 October

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

now adults on the wing 38 days

adults on the wing Insect here all year

The whole year

30 July – 10 November

the coastal calendar, shifted 10 days later for this region

Sitting the year outGetting readyYoung aboutYoung leaving

Where to look

Hovering at lavender and valerian in full sun; mistaken for a hummingbird every summer.

Worth knowing

Partly migratory: the coastal population is topped up every spring by moths arriving from further south, so numbers in a given July say as much about Africa as about the local bedstraw crop.

Look it up

photos, sightings and recordings, off this site

iNaturalist — photos and where people are seeing it Wikipedia — Macroglossum stellatarum

Regions

where this species is on the list

Dalmatian coastKvarner and IstriaVelebit and the DinaridesSlavonia and the Pannonian plainTukhlia, Ukrainian Carpathians

Phase by phase

dates as they fall in the region chosen above

Phase	When	Length	What it means
hibernating	11 November – 10 March	120 days	True hibernation: body temperature drops and the animal cannot simply wake.
going about the year	11 March – 10 May	61 days	Feeding, holding territory, doing nothing the calendar singles out.
on eggs	11 May – 29 May	19 days	Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun.
larvae feeding	30 May – 4 July	36 days	Caterpillars, grubs or nymphs feeding and growing.
in the pupa	5 July – 29 July	25 days	Rebuilt inside a chrysalis or cocoon; the animal cannot move or feed.
adults on the wing	30 July – 10 November	104 days	The new generation is out, winged and looking for a mate.

Other insects in this region

Buff-tailed bumblebeeCleopatra butterflyCommon glow-wormEuropean hornetEuropean mantisGreat cicadaGreat green bush-cricketRose chaferScarce swallowtailStag beetleSwallowtailTwo-tailed pashaViolet carpenter beeWestern honey bee

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