Evolutionary arms race stretches #hawkmoths and #flowers to extremes https://phys.org/news/2026-05-evolutionary-arms-hawkmoths-extremes.html paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/3/251697/480661/The-evolution-of-proboscis-length-and-feeding

"the earliest hawkmoths did not feed as adults... The first evidence of adult feeding in hawkmoths appears around 44 million years ago. From there, the trait quickly caught on... But the path to long-tongued, nectar-guzzling #moths is not linear. Many species gained and lost it multiple times, shifting from nonfeeding to feeding and back"

#Insects #Evolution

Secret night operations between #hawkmoths and Japan's black-nectar flowers https://phys.org/news/2026-04-exposing-secret-night-hawkmoths-japan.html

Black juice in the dark: #Pollination of dark-nectared Jasminanthes mucronata (Apocynaceae) by nocturnal hawkmoths https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.70370

"nocturnal #moths are the main #pollinators of Jasminanthes mucronata, a plant species native to Japan that produces black nectar. This is the first time that a colored nectar flower has been confirmed to be mainly pollinated by nocturnal #insects."

3-Apr-2026
Secret night operations between #moths and colored-nectar flowers
Nocturnal #hawkmoths found to pollinate #flowers that produce colored #nectar for the first time

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1122197 #science #ecology #pollinators

We welcome the 2nd plenary speaker at #ABL2025. 🙌

Dr. Anna Stöckl (Universität Konstanz) reveals how insect pollinators interpret floral patterns to guide foraging. From hawkmoth vision to neural templates—this talk will bridge behaviour, neuroethology & sensory biology. 🦋🪻

#InsectVision #Neuroethology #Pollinators #Hawkmoths

A hummingbird hawk-moth was flying among the lavender flowers when @Konenpanien and I were on the way to the supermarket this morning. We don't always have the opportunity to see one that stays among the same flowers long enough to film it. It's a pity we didn't have a better camera with us.

#butterflies #hawkmoths #polinators #wildlife #stuttgart

A rare #orchid survives on a few tracts of #prairie. Researchers want to learn its secrets https://phys.org/news/2024-08-rare-orchid-survives-tracts-prairie.html

"The orchid is a unique insight into its nearly vanished ecosystem—the #TallgrassPrairie—as well as for understanding connectedness with pollinators and other plants... The orchid's only known #pollinators are #hawkmoths, big #moths that are just the right fit and size to reach the orchid's nectar, in a long spur, while also pollinating the plant."