A nature lover has snapped an incredible picture of the rare hummingbird hawkmoth in Salford.
Dr Luke Blazejewski was out in Crescent Meadows, near the River Irwell, when the rare creature suddenly appeared in his eyeline.
“I was out photographing butterflies when it started hovering in front of my eyes,” he said.
“I love these moments; when you instantly recognise something (from books or films) even though you have never seen it before in the wild. There is no greater magic than that.”
The hummingbird hawkmoth, as the name suggests, resembles a hummingbird as it flies rapidly between plants and hovers to feed over tubular flowers using its long tongue.
Often misunderstood as the butterfly’s ugly sister, moths have a tendency to be shut in the dark (quite literally).
“However, the hummingbird hawkmoth is a diurnal moth (day-flying), and looks more like something out of the African wilderness than something on the banks of the River Irwell, and that’s because it is!
“Hummingbird hawkmoths might only be slight creatures, but they make the daunting journey from Northern Africa and Southern Europe to the UK every year in spring – and back again in autumn.
