We were planting some perennials that we picked up at St. Faustina’s Church Festival held at St. Christopher’s in Prospect. Part of their activities was a farm and garden market that was supported by parishioners in Butler County.

I was particularly interested in the Butterfly Bushes and any other perennials that might attract pollinators. I have been concerned about the honey bees, butterflies and moths which have had a hard time with their habitat. We have had true success with phlox, cone flowers, white daisies and black-eyed Susans. Not so much with red cardinal flowers due to aggressive feeding habits of the local white-tail deer.

We would try the Butterfly Bush and planted a dozen or more in our garden landscapes. Our success with hummingbirds and butterflies was modest and we observed many species feeding among our plantings. A new visitor who we have seen more frequently puzzled us at first, but after careful observation we identified it as a Hummingbird Moth.

It was about the shape and size of a small hummingbird and we originally thought it might be a young hummingbird. Then we noticed that it had antennas. That’s no bird, it is an insect, some kind of moth or butterfly. We were thrown off as it was midday which made us think butterfly, but further study confirmed it was a moth species that worked during daylight hours.

The hummingbird moth uses its long tongue-like proboscis, which is about four inches long, to probe flowers for nectar which it feeds on in this stage.

My curiosity was peaked by this creature and out came the scientific informational guides. It was a Hawk moth Genus: Hemaris sp. Interestingly enough, I ran into the caterpillar of this creature several years back and in my ignorance had no idea as to what I was dealing with. It was on my father-in-law’s tomato plants in his patio garden.

The green Tomato Hornworm had devoured the tomato plant nearly to the main stem in a day or two, plus there was about a dozen of them! They were large, plump green caterpillars and I hand-picked them off the plants and put them in a jar. They were a spectacle for a few days as I showed them off to my gardening buddies and then dumped out in the woods.

The hummingbird moth is found throughout the U.S. and Canada and has numerous variations across regions. In the south they are likely called Tobacco Hornworm caterpillars and are a scourge pest on the tobacco farmers. The moths can travel at 12 mph and have a wing-beat of 70 beats per second, which gives the illusion and hum of the hummingbird flitting about. They also have the same torso shape of the bird, but it’s smaller in size by half. They are interesting to observe and something to keep an eye out for in your pollinator gardens.

I received my first-round antlerless deer license in the mail last week. If you mailed in your application within the scheduled time frame, you should have one in hand. The second date of mailings started on Aug. 1 and I know of several hunters who have been notified through e-mail that they are also successful in their efforts. The push for modern apps for all licensing is showing a strong effort and is being well-received by the modern hunters who are familiar with the technology.

The PA elk hunt applications deadline is now passed as of July 31. I made what I call the conservation support applications for all three elk seasons. This helps me justify the expense of applying for a long-shot chance of getting pulled in one of the three elk hunting seasons…we will see!

I have a Lake Erie fishing charter lined up for Ashtabula Harbor this weekend. I will go with Trophy Charters and Captain Walt Ermansons (www.trophycharters.com) for walleye and steelhead. The fishing is usually outstanding with limits of walleye being the rule and adding a steelhead trout every now and then keeps you on your toes. If you have a group of four or five guys, it’s a great way to spend the day.

Warning for all of you…Walt likes to get out early and on the water between 4-4:30 a.m. My experience with the fishing is that the pre-dawn hours are the prime time for the bite and we have had the majority of our fish before breakfast!

Until we meet again, have a great weekend and enjoy the wildlife.

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle