Having recently photographic some hummingbirds in flight, I couldn’t help but think of them when I first spotted several Snowberry Clearwing Moths (Hemaris diffinis) last week at Occoquan Regional Park. The fight characteristics are quite similar as they hover in mid-air and extract nectar from flowers. Unlike hummingbirds that have a skinny bill and a tongue, clearwing moths use a long proboscis to reach into the flowers.
In our area we have two similar species of clearwing moths, the Snowberry Clearwing and the Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe). They are similar in appearance and behavior, but generally the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth is redder in appearance, so I believe these are all Snowberrys.
The clearwing moths seem to be very attracted to several small patches of swamp milkweed. Other insects had a similar attraction and if you look in the center of the milkweed in the second photo, you will note an orange insect that I can’t see well enough to identify.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Great photos, Mike.
Very nice series of images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
I love the weird proportions of this moth. Beautiful capture of all of the textures and the movement in the wings.
Nice shots, Mike. I was noticing some just the other day. They are pretty neat to watch!
Thanks, Eliza. They definitely are a joy to watch and chase about. They don’t seem to linger long on a particular blossom and are constantly moving back and forth and up and down.
Their behavioral resemblance to hummingbirds is inescapable, once one has had the chance to see them in action, and I find them all the more fascinating because of that. The other critter in you second photo looks rather like what we used to call a rose chafer, and I tried to confirm this, but for some reason BugGuide refuses to load for me tonight.
Thanks, Gary. I too had problems with BugGuide yesterday. I love watching hummingbirds in action, but am not disappointed when I discover that the creatures that I am watching are “only” clearwing moths. 🙂
Stunning shots as always. It amazes me how they fly with those almost translucent wings and that weighty body. And so beautifully captured against the blossom 👏
Thanks, Damien. I often walk around in a state of constant amazement at what I see in the natural world around me.
Great catch, Mike. We have these visit our bee balm but I have yet to get a decent image. The only ones I’ve been able to get a good shot at were in a butterfly house a few miles from here quite a few years ago.
Thanks, Steve. I never know when these little guys will appear. Usually it’s when I am looking at a batch of flowers and one of them comes swooping in.
Beautiful shots, Mike. I have yet to see a clearwing moth. They are magnificent.
Thanks, Pete. I understand that there is a similar hummingbird hawk-moth in Europe that does not have clear wings.
I think it is a milkweed beetle. Saw a clear wing here when I emptied the trash. It was inspecting the decorative grass. Thanks for supplying the basic name and distinction. Not certain now which one it was exactly.
Wow! Amazing creatures. I have a post of the Snowberry Clearwing as well!
Thanks, Philip. I went and checked out your photos. You seem to photograph many of the same creatures that I do. I usually concentrate on dragonflies and butterflies when it is warm and switch to mainly birds when it gets colder.
Nice, I love your blog!