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[Naturegirl1999]

I mean we have botflies that spray eggs into your eyes here in Sweden...

I thought botflies put their eggs on mosquitos, so they can get the eggs into skin

[scriver]

There are many kinds of botflies.

This particular one thinks our eyes are elk nostrils.

[Eric Blank]

There are humming birds fighting over the bird feeder four feet away from me, mostly okay with me sitting here. Life is good.

[Naturegirl1999]

There are many kinds of botflies.

This particular one thinks our eyes are elk nostrils.

I wonder if blinking will set them straight…wait they don’t have eyes, never mind

There are humming birds fighting over the bird feeder four feet away from me, mostly okay with me sitting here. Life is good.

I remember learning that hummingbirds can be very territorial

[Eric Blank]

I mean we have botflies that spray eggs into your eyes here in Sweden...

I read that as bottles and was very confused as to why such a product would exist. Have dry eyes? Spray some egg in there and you'll have something else to bitch about instead!

There are humming birds fighting over the bird feeder four feet away from me, mostly okay with me sitting here. Life is good.

I remember learning that hummingbirds can be very territorial
[/quote]
Yeah they can be extremely territorial, they need those flowers (and bird feeders)

[JoshuaFH]

I mean, if you had to eat 8 times your bodyweight in sugar every single day, you'd fight to the death over the magical sugar water dispenser too.

[ChairmanPoo]

I always get kind of jealous when somebody mentions seeing humming birds, here in Europe there are none.

Eeh, dude... FYI...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Hummingbird

[Rose]

Wow, bravo.

[Frumple]

More seriously... it's not quite the same thing, but hey, close enough, right?

[Naturegirl1999]

More seriously... it's not quite the same thing, but hey, close enough, right?

that’s some good mimicry right there. Had I not seen the title of the page, I probably would miss the antennae and mistake it for a bird, which is obviously the point

[scriver]

More seriously... it's not quite the same thing, but hey, close enough, right?

Mosquitos too

[LordBaal]

As per wikipedia, it must be convergent evolution? Which benefit would bring to imitate an almost equally feeble animal that is not a predator or poisonous?

[Sirus]

I imagine that the benefits include access to high-energy food that your competitors aren't interested in or able to consume as easily, combined with the maneuverability provided by the ability to hover and move in any direction to avoid threats. Not an expert on hummingbirds or hummingbird moths though.

[scriver]

As per wikipedia, it must be convergent evolution? Which benefit would bring to imitate an almost equally feeble animal that is not a predator or poisonous?

And in particularly that doesn't exist in the area where the imitator lives

[Naturegirl1999]

Maybe its predators are specialized towards eating arthropods specifically, and wouldn’t target birds? Just a hypothesis of course, also probably incorrect. Spiders and mantids will attack hummingbirds too