‘Grey lump with orange wings’: migrating moth descends on UK gardens

The Guardian UK Thursday 30 July 2026, 08:00 UTC By Chris Baraniuk 1 min read

Key Points

Boom in hummingbird hawk-moth sightings put down to hot weather, strong winds and food scarcity in EuropeHe had just sat down to dinner in the garden when a speedy visitor whizzed by – a “grey lump with orange wings”, recalled Luke Burstow, from Sussex. It was a hummingbird hawk-moth, a flying insect that migrates to the UK from continental Europe and north Africa. “I was like: ‘Wow!’,” said the software project manager.

Boom in hummingbird hawk-moth sightings put down to hot weather, strong winds and food scarcity in Europe

He had just sat down to dinner in the garden when a speedy visitor whizzed by – a “grey lump with orange wings”, recalled Luke Burstow, from Sussex. It was a hummingbird hawk-moth, a flying insect that migrates to the UK from continental Europe and north Africa.

“I was like: ‘Wow!’,” said the software project manager. “I didn’t even know they existed.”

Grey (PERSON) UK (LOCATION) hummingbird hawk-moth (PERSON) EuropeHe (ORG) Luke Burstow (PERSON) Sussex (LOCATION) Europe (LOCATION) north Africa (LOCATION)

Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

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‘Grey lump with orange wings’: migrating moth descends on UK gardens

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