Hummingbird Hawk-Moths Exhibit Design

The Master Engineer must like flying creatures since he made so many of them, and with a variety of designs. That seems to be a reasonable assumption. Some of those creatures be nicknamed Zippy because of their bursts of speed and sudden changes of direction.

One particular critter is not in my neck of the woods, but people in Eurasia can appreciate the hummingbird hawk moth. While most moths seem to be satisfied with being butterflies of the night, this one is out in the daytime. Like hummingbirds.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Flickr / Umberto Salvagnin (CC BY 2.0)

These skilled fliers use a huge amount of energy, so they need a great deal of fuel. Hummingbird hawk-moths sip nectar with their long, thin proboscis. Time is of the essence, but they can tell where they've been, so no wasting time with repeat visits. Also, their agility in flight may cause people to confuse them with actual hummingbirds.

If you’ve ever taken a lazy stroll through a flower garden on a warm day, you’ve probably noticed the frenetic pace of insects as they forage through the floral smorgasbord. In comparison, air traffic at London’s Heathrow Airport during the 2012 Olympics was downright poky. No wonder. God’s fleet of aircraft includes thousands of zippy designs that can scoot in and out of tight spots faster than anything Boeing or Airbus ever imagined.

This is an interesting and rather fun article. You can read the rest of listen to the audio by my favorite reader at "It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a . . . Moth?"