In the Lepidoptera order of the animal kingdom, it’s butterflies who get all the glory. But we’d argue it’s their relatives, moths, that have the better story. With more than 160,000 species of moths around the world, moths outnumber butterfly species roughly 10 to 1. While most are nocturnal, the hummingbird hawk-moth on our homepage today breaks the mold. Found throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, it’s shown here in the daylight of southern Sardinia, sipping nectar with its straw-like appendage known as a proboscis. Like a hummingbird, the moth makes a soft buzzing sound as it hovers over the flowers whose nectar it feeds on exclusively.
Let’s go mothing
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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The Unfinished Obelisk near Aswan, Egypt
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The Cutty Sark turns 150
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Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany
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Happy Mother’s Day
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Polar Bear Week
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Old City of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia, Croatia
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A bridge of Madison County
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Craters of the Moon centennial
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World Meerkat Day
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Puma in Patagonia
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World Water Day
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
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Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Smoking nights in Austria
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India Republic Day
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Tasmans Arch, Tasmania, Australia
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Young black caiman, Tambopata National Reserve, Peru
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A winter wonderland in Northeast China
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Falling for the Canadian Rockies
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International Archaeology Day
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Travels to the Oregon deep
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Art in the chapel
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World Environment Day
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Happy Mothers Day!
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Point Reyes National Seashore
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Cool water in the Quinault
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International Day for Monuments and Sites
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The buzz about bees
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Río Negro, Amazon basin, Brazil
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Jan van Eyckplein in Bruges, Belgium