Think hummingbirds are the only speed demons visiting your flowers? Meet the actual fastest pollinators in North America - sphinx moths with wings that beat 85 times per second and carpenter bees that visit 5,000 flowers in a single day. In this episode, we explore the incredible physics-defying abilities of these turbocharged pollinators, from hover-flying moths with tongues longer than their bodies to vibrating bees that make your tomatoes possible. Discover why speed matters in pollination, learn which flowers attract these nighttime workers, and find out how you can support the pollinators moving too fast for most people to even notice. Your evening garden will never look the same again.

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KEY SOURCES

Sphinx moth flight and thermoregulation

• Heinrich, B. (1993). The Hot-Blooded Insects: Strategies and Mechanisms of Thermoregulation. Harvard University Press. — pre-flight warm-up by shivering; thoracic temperature regulation in sphingids.
• Sponberg, S., Dyhr, J. P., Hall, R. W., & Daniel, T. L. (2015). Luminance-dependent visual processing enables moth flight in low light. Science, 348(6240), 1245–1248. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa3042 — how Manduca sexta tracks moving flowers at dusk light levels.
• Mitton, J. (2019). White-lined sphinx moths' flight, agility a marvel. University of Colorado Boulder. — wingbeat frequency around 41 cycles per second; thoracic temperature held at 104–108°F while ambient air is 60–90°F.
• Alexander, R. D. / Willmott, A. P., & Ellington, C. P. (1997). The mechanics of flight in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. Journal of Experimental Biology, 200(21), 2705–2745.

White-lined sphinx moth natural history

• University of Wisconsin Horticulture Extension, White-lined Sphinx Moth, Hyles lineata — wingspan 2½ to 3½ inches; nocturnal with some daytime activity; large body relative to wing area requires rapid wingbeats to stay aloft.
• Miller, W. E. (1997). Diversity and evolution of tongue length in hawkmoths. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 51(1), 9–31.
• Grant, V., & Grant, K. A. (1983). Behavior of hawkmoths on flowers of Datura meteloides. Botanical Gazette, 144(2), 280–284.

Buzz pollination

• De Luca, P. A., & Vallejo-Marín, M. (2013). What's the buzz about? The ecology and evolutionary significance of buzz-pollination. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 16(4), 429–435. DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2013.05.002
• King, M. J., & Buchmann, S. L. (2003). Floral sonication by bees: mesosomal vibration by Bombus and Xylocopa*, but not* Apis*, ejects pollen from poricidal anthers.* Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 76(2), 295–305. — honey bee sonication accelerations fall below the threshold needed to eject pollen from poricidal anthers.
• Vallejo-Marín, M. (2019). Buzz pollination: studying bee vibrations on flowers. New Phytologist, 224(3), 1068–1074. DOI: 10.1111/nph.15666
• Cooley, H., & Vallejo-Marín, M. (2021). Buzz-pollinated crops: a global review and meta-analysis of the effects of supplemental bee pollination in tomato. Journal of Economic Entomology, 114(2), 505–519. DOI: 10.1093/jee/toab009

Carpenter bee biology

• Gerling, D., Velthuis, H. H. W., & Hefetz, A. (1989). Bionomics of the large carpenter bees of the genus Xylocopa. Annual Review of Entomology, 34, 163–190.
• Keasar, T. (2010). Large carpenter bees as agricultural pollinators. Psyche, 2010, 927463. DOI: 10.1155/2010/927463

Night-blooming plants and moth pollination

• Macgregor, C. J., Pocock, M. J. O., Fox, R., & Evans, D. M. (2015). Pollination by nocturnal Lepidoptera, and the effects of light pollution: a review. Ecological Entomology, 40(3), 187–198. DOI: 10.1111/een.12174

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