Cumbria was invaded by an army of rare insects in 2006, attracted to the county by the summer heatwave.

Barrow resident Darrell was astonished to find a humming-bird hawk moth usually only seen in the Mediterranean countries in his back garden.

He spotted the exotic creature hovering among the plants at his home in Newport Street.

Easily mistaken for a hummingbird, the insect probes flowers for nectar with its long proboscis and its wings beat so fast they make an audible hum.

Darrell had last seen one 30 years previously, during the heatwave of 1976, when he was living in Milnthorpe.

“When this one few past me last week I couldn’t believe it because they’re very rare,” he said.

Keeper of natural sciences at Tullie House Museum in Carlisle, Stephen Hewitt, said climate change was resulting in some unusual creatures from the southern Mediterranean turning up on our shores.

He said: “It’s been an exceptionally good year for moths this summer.

“In the last few weeks, we’ve had quite a few hummingbird hawk moths turning up.

“They’re very distinctive and people are noticing them.

“In fact, people have been mistaking them for humming birds.”

The Clouded Yellow butterfly had also been arriving around Cumbria’s coastline from southern Europe.

Mr Hewitt added: “Both species are irregular migrants, This year has been exceptionally good for both of them because of the summer we’ve had.”

In 2005 Walney gardener Matt McKellar spotted a hummingbird hawk moth hovering among his fuchsias.

Before that, the last recorded sighting of a hummingbird hawk moth on Walney was in 1998.

In 1996 budding entomologist Christopher Snaith, seven, was at his grandfather's allotment in Roose when came across the biggest caterpillar he had ever seen.

The three-inch long creature had a green/brown body with yellow stripes and a hooked tale.

Sandscale Haws warden Pete Burton said it was an elephant hawk-moth and that they could often be found around the Ormsgill reservoir.