Hummingbird Hawk Moth

A scene at a local garden center inspired me to create this painting - when browsing through the plants I spotted a small moth feeding on some wallflower plants. But not just by sitting on each flower individually, but by hovering from flower to flower and using its long proboscis - similar to a hummingbird! It was a Hummingbird Hawk Moth - a moth I spotted for the first time about a year ago! This moth is a great example of convergent evolution - hummingbirds and hummingbird hawk moths aren't closely related species, but both have evolved different mechanisms that enable them to feed on flowers in the same way.

Also, the moth triggered me to buy a few of those wallflower plants (after all, it preferred those plants over the others). I guess you could call it "advertising by nature" xD

Acrylics on watercolor paper, 15 x 21 cm