A Surprise!

Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Macroglossum stellatarum, in my garden in Hayes.  29 August 2015.

I have only seen a Hummingbird Hawkmoth once before, when I was staying near St. David's in Wales for my niece's wedding in 2011.  That time I just caught a glimpse of one in a countryside lane near the sea.  It's an immigrant species, arriving over the channel every year in varying numbers, though there is some indication that it is now breeding here too.

Today I was extremely lucky - I looked up and there was one in my tiny back garden, drinking from a Buddleia I planted three years ago hoping to attract butterflies.  I ran for my camera.

Even luckier - my new camera has exceptionally good resolution and I was able to get these shots from a clear five feet away.  (I've just measured the distance to be sure that's not an exaggeration.) 

Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Macroglossum stellatarum, in my garden in Hayes.  29 August 2015.

Of course, these are just a small part of the image.  It is heavily cropped.  But the detail is pretty good.

This moth seems to be always on the wing.  It certainly doesn't settle to feed, as you can see.  I used one of my custom settings at 1/500 of a second, the one I use as a default for shots further away than six inches, so the wings are not frozen - there was no time to tinker!  And it's quite effective.

Just after the moth flew off I caught a large hoverfly, Volucella zonaria, a hornet imitator, on the same plant.

Hoverfly, Volucella zonaria, in my garden in Hayes.  29 August 2015.

This one was easier to get close to.  I was only a foot away from it.