Totally off topic :^')

[Mykle1]

Ok, maybe not totally off topic. The work I’ve done with MM is mostly Science related, and Nature certainly fits in there comfortably. Anyway . . .

In May, I dragged myself away from my MagicMirror just long enough to germinate some seeds for Spring planting. Specifically, Cardinal Climber seeds. Now, you may be thinking, “Mykle is an old guy. He likes gardening,” and you would be right. However, it is the visitors to the things I plant that interest me more than the plants themselves. And right on schedule, year after year, I am graced with visits from one of natures unique adaptations, and some other special guests. I live in New York City, specifically, Staten Island. We’re not known for our displays of Nature.

So, with a little forethought and preparation in the month of May, I get rare (for this area) visitors that my neighbors only dream about.

Shut the F#%( up, Mykle!

Friday, August 25, 2017 - 4:30PM

The pictures are a little deceiving. You should know that those little red flowers are about an inch long, and the hummingbirds about 2 - 2 1/2 inches. They appear larger because of the zoom.

[Snille]

I’ll continue your thread with another visitor (we had 2013) when we moved to our first house. :) I don’t know the English name of it… But in Swedish it’s called “Jättesvärmare”.

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[Mykle1]

@Snille said in Totally off topic :^'):

I’ll continue your thread with another visitor (we have 2013) when we moved to our first house. :) I don’t know the English name of it… But in Swedish it’s called “Jättesvärmare”.

Wonderful! Amazing! Spectacular! Fantastic!

Does this look right?

[Mykle1]

@Snille said in Totally off topic :^'):

Jättesvärmare or Nattsvärmare looks to be what we would call a MOTH. That is amazing because it’s an insect that flies like a hummingbird.

https://www.bendsource.com/bend/that-aint-no-hummingbird-life-among-the-sphinx-moths/Content?oid=2131465

I love this stuff!

[Mykle1]

So here is a video I took with my iPhone yesterday, August 25, 2017 at about 4:30PM Eastern US time. The same time I was taking the pictures above with my camera. I would REALLY like to see a Jättesvärmare or Nattsvärmare now that I know about them. Make the video full screen for a better view. At 0:22 you can hear me whisper, “Ahh, beautiful!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-PK--dJVSw&feature=youtu.be

[Snille]

@Mykle1 I just love how the hummingbird is flying, the hoovering is so cool! :)

[Mykle1]

@Snille said in Totally off topic :^'):

I just love how the hummingbird is flying, the hoovering is so cool! :)

I agree. I am totally captivated by them. I just spent 2 hours sitting silently in a chair waiting but only one short sighting today. Gone before I even got my camera ready.

[Mykle1]

Don’t want to call it a death’s-head? In Dutch, they’re called Doodshoofdvlinder; in French, le sphinx à tête de mort; in German, Totenkopfschwärmer; in Spanish, cabeza de muerto; and in Swedish, Dödskallesvärmare.

A. atropos is the fastest moth in the world; it can fly at speeds up to 30mph! The insects can also hover like hummingbirds as they drink nectar from flowers.

[Mykle1]

Went to opening night at the US OPEN Tennis tournament. The site of the 1964 World’s Fair, which my father brought me to. I snapped this picture while sneaking a cigarette in the stairway. You might recognize the objects on the right. :^)

[cowboysdude]

Yes but do they really fly? HAHAHAHAHA