Category: Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Apple Blossom Time

Apple trees at the moment are a huge puff of snow white and soft pink. A delight for pollinators gathering to make the trees buzz with excitement. This pollinator, above, is a Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus).

Two Spicebush Swallowtails (Papilio troilus).

A Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus).

A Nessus Sphinx Moth (Amphion floridensis).

And looking quite similar to the Nessus Sphinx Moth, this is a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe).

This, representing the oodles of species of bees and wasps that visit the apple blossoms, is a Virginia Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica).

It is astounding to stand next to one of these apple trees in bloom and see and think about the number of insects that are feeding on the nectar of these charming flowers. Absolutely astounding.

Hummingbird Moths

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe)

There are four species of Hummingbird Moth in North America, members of the sphinx moth family (Sphingidae). Sometimes they get mistaken for baby hummingbirds. But they are moths that collect nectar during the day. One of the species, in the photograph above, is the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. This moth has a golden back, a chestnut-brown abdomen, and pale legs.

Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

Another species of Hummingbird Moth, Snowberry Clearwing Moth, is pale yellow and black, with a black line running through its eyes and down its sides, and it has black legs.

Hummingbirds that have fledged, or just ventured from their nest for the first time, are the same size as adult hummingbirds. Those that have just fledged from their nest, the youngest that you’ll see flying around, are the very same size as their parents, measuring in at about three inches long. These moths are about one and a half inches long. Not baby hummingbirds but Hummingbird Moths.