Humming Along

The next time you're near a patch of flowers and you think you see a hummingbird zip by, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK! It just might be a hummingbird moth, a lesser-known but important pollinator.

WHILE VISITING MY MOTHER in upstate New York, I decided to walk around her yard at night and take photos of flowers, using a flash. I remember capturing this picture and being totally unaware of the galium sphinx moth at the blossoms. After the flash of the camera went off, the moth flew past me, bumping into me in its alarm. I didn't know what had collided with me until I saw this photo. Gail Evans RIVERHEAD, NY

I TOOK THIS PHOTO just outside Princeton, Minnesota, where a lot of meadow-blazing star was growing. Look closely and you can see this moth's proboscis drinking the nectar. I used a Canon 5D Mark III camera with a Tamron 150-600 mm lens to capture this image. Mary Karlie Carlson PRINCETON, MN