HUMMINGBIRD MOTH GETS GARDENER IN A FLAP

THERE was more than a flutter of excitement when bus driver Rob Adams spotted what he thought was a Hummingbird while pruning bushes in his mum’s garden.

The sharp-thinking 28-year-old immediately whipped out his new Samsung smartphone and filmed more than a minute of footage as the fast-flapping creature darted from plant to plant collecting nectar.

But such was the quality of the images he captured that further scrutiny revealed that the curious visitor to his mum’s Broom garden was not a bird at all — but a humming bird hawk moth.

Rob, a scout leader with Brecks Explorer Scouts and Stagecoach bus driver, said: “I personally thought that it was a Hummingbird, but when my mum saw it she immediately said that she didn’t think we had those in this country.

“Luckily, my sister was going to a nature reserve the following day and made enquiries there. She was told that it would have been a Hummingbird moth.

Rob’s mum, Lesley, said: “It really was amazing that Rob spotted this and reacted quickly enough to film it. The footage is crystal clear.”

Although not native to UK shores — it is abundant in Mediterranean countries and across Central Asia — a migration from the South of France each summer does result in limited sightings of hummingbird hawkmoths across the length and breadth of the country.

The species of moth is unusual in that it flies in bright sunlight and in rain.

Although the Hummingbird Hawk Moth cannot survive British winters an RSPCA spokesman revealed that Rob’s brief encounter might not be his last, stating: “The Hummingbird Hawk Moth has a remarkably good memory individuals return to the same flower beds every day at about the same time.”