Micro-Landscapes of the Anthropocene

Hummingbird Moth

“...which is adapted for securing nectar from certain types of flowers, is usually rather long and always slender. In the thornbills...”
 

Take flight in the perfect disguise.

 

“There’s a hummingbird in our garden.”

 

You are no hummingbird. You were born into the insect world. Survivability is directly related to adaptability, and that ideal embodies your very being. Mimicry is the best form of flattery, but you need it to exist and the voice in the distance fails to damage your non-existent need for individuality. Instead of camouflaging with flowers of vibrant pink, white and yellow, or feigning toxicity with bright coloured spots, you’ve chosen to imitate a bird. Your disguise is perfect down to the hum of your wings that beat over eighty-five times a second and the straw-like proboscis that imitates the beak. This farce gives you confidence. You need not feed in the darkness like your brethren who take advantage of sleeping predators. On the contrary, you prefer to the let the light of the sun reflect off your body and feed in the bright of the day. In the eyes of others, you are a hummingbird but in reality, you are so much more.    

 



From
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Hummingbird.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 Apr. 2018, www.britannica.com/animal/hummingbird.

This page has paths:

This page references: