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thrumyeye — A Split Second
by-nc-nd
Published: 2009-12-05 11:00:54 +0000 UTC; Views: 19933; Favourites: 1195; Downloads: 0
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Description
When a hummingbird moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) wants honey he rolls out his loooong 'tongue', puts it in a flower and sucks. When satisfied he rolls his tongue back in and flies away. As simple as that.
My goal was to catch this precise (and very short) moment and I think I succeeded on this. Submitted to Tiny World Photo contest: [link]
Canon 350D + Tokina 100mm F2.8
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Comments: 187
They are the cutest and really hard to capture. Tried that a lot and failed multiple times, never succeeded. But now that I have seen your shot I'm prepared to try it again next summer. Well deserved
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You have real talent to capture this split second moment.
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I love humming bird moths!!!!!!! They come to me home for flowers every year!!!
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wow this is an incredible shot! it must have taken a lot of patience
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hehehehe what a great photo, Yesterday was a disastrous for me , I spent it all just trying to catch a blue small humming bird
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i love catching these in the summer! what an awesome shot!
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WOW! I see these all the time , but have never got to capture one in photos. Beautiful shot!
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Hi, what a beautiful photo, my compliments 
Thanks for sharing
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Awesome!
I'm a newbie photographer so this is really cool if you ask me!
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wow! it's pretty and scary @ the same time (AHH bugs! lol)
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wow!!! what kind of insect is that?.... nice shot
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Hehe I love these little guys. I've always seen them in my grandparent's yard in the summer and I've always thought they were the most amazing bugs, but i've never tried taking pictures of them, I thought that was an impossible task.
I stand corrected. This is a great picture.
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Great capture. I've had quite a few of these bugs fly into me while I was in the garden.
They were never in my state until late 2001 or so, we didn't know what they were. We've seen them the size of a small sparrow.
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I'm gonna react to your poll through this and let you know which ones I would love to own as cards!
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Great shot! I'm trying to catch this little fellow for years!
Maybe this summer I'll succeed
I never saw it's eyes so clearly before! We call it "colibri moth"
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Yep, have seen it here in Northern Minnesota once. Amazing & yet slow moving w/ such precise for aiming to the honeysuckle as I let one of the wild flower grow in out yard!
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I see those things in Spain 
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I've NEVER heard of a hummingbird moth before! That's CRAZY cool!
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I must commend you on this photograph. I tried so hard to photograph one in my backyard as it was flying around my mom's garden, and I couldn't for the life of me get it in the picture, much less as in focus and great angle you have captured here. This is truly spectacular and you have a wonderful gift!
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oh my god you are the best photographer ever!
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I've always thought these were the strangest animals! the first time I saw one i didn't know what it was.
It looked like it had a lobster tail, moth wings, and a hummingbird beak!
i called it the humobsteroth.
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I've seen a few of these cute little guys and always wondered what the heck they were.
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I've seen it once in Northern Minnesota few years back.
Its a rare sighting, not seen them anymore. Must got caught in the strong wind & drifted further is what my theory could be. As I had Wikipedia to get additional info.
Thanks for share !
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I have a similar shot here [link]
I took 4 photos over 2 minutes and in each it looks like the tongue is out.
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Beautiful image! I've seen a hummingbird moth only once, and it moved so fast it confused me for a moment as to whether or not it was an insect.
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Wow, impeccable timing! What an amazing shot! I love hummingbird moths, they are pretty awesome.
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Your nature shots ever continue to astound me! Marvelous job!
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Perfect exposure,great use of speed and wonderful natural colors.
Regards,
Remus
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Wonderful ! I've been looking for what species it was for years. Before last summer I didn't even know if it was a humming bird or a butterfly
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Perfect! One of my wishes is to see and capture (on camera) on of them! Lucky you!
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Now THAT is a nifty photo of a hummer moth.
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wow! great shot! these guys are so difficult to capture!
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