"The Hummingbird Hawk-Moth: Nature's Bird-Like Giant Sucking Insect"

1 min read
Source: Livescience.com
"The Hummingbird Hawk-Moth: Nature's Bird-Like Giant Sucking Insect"
Photo: Livescience.com
TL;DR

The hummingbird hawk-moth, found in Europe and North Africa, resembles a bird but is actually a moth that hovers and feeds on nectar like a hummingbird. It uses its long, curled proboscis to extract nectar from tube-shaped flowers and relies on its exceptional vision to precisely position its mouthpart. A recent study revealed that the moth uses continuous visual feedback to fine-tune its movements, showcasing a sophisticated neural circuit for visually guided reaching, a behavior more commonly associated with mammals.

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