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.
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.
