Lynne Todhunter from Beck Bottom Community Group, one of our really successful It’s Your Neighbourhood Groups, spotted this relatively rare moth in her Hensingham garden earlier this summer.
According to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) website here you are mostly likely to see a Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the UK during July and August. In July 2022 5.2% of Garden BirdWatch gardens recorded a visit from a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, compared to just 1.3% in a typical year, while the proportion rose to 7.5% in southeast England. In Scotland, where the species is much rarer, it was reported from 1.2% of gardens, more than three times the summer average. Have a look at the BTO website for more information.
We understand that they have been seen in Wetheral near Carlisle.
Thank you again Lynne for sending these pictures.
