Humming Along Through Summer - Part 2: Hummingbird Moth

After our last post on humingbirds I photographed this little beauty at our office, it is one of a species of Hummingbird Moths, the Snowberry Clearwing:

The Snowberry Clearwing Moth is a small hummingbird moth which more closely resembles a large bumblebee rather than a hummingbird. Like other hummingbird moths, this one flies during daylight. 

This bumblebee mimic is yellow with black wings and abdomen. At 1.25 to 2 inches, its wingspan is slightly smaller than that of the hummingbird clearwing. Its larvae feed on honeysuckle, dogbane and buckbrush. Adults eat from many flowers, including thistles, milkweed and lilac. A similar, but larger, sphinx moth is the (Hemaris thysbe) Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. 

A close relative, the hummingbird clearwing is common in North America.  Its larvae feed on honeysuckle, buck brush, wild cherry and plum. Adults hover to take nectar at many different flowers, including honeysuckle, bee balm, phlox, lilac and bergamot. 

Adult sphinx moths are medium to large moths with wingspans ranging from about 1.25 inches to 4.75 inches. The snowberry clearwing is one of the smallest moths in this group, while the five-spotted hawk moth is one of the largest. 

Ironically, its larva is the familiar and hideously ugly hornworm, know to destroy tomato plants. It is interestingly often the victim of a tiny beneficial predatory wasp which lays rice-like eggs on the caterpillar for its larva who devour the hornworm from the inside out.

The Carolina sphinx, whose larva is known as the tobacco hornworm, weighs only one to two grams, but it flaps its wings an astonishing 25 to 30 beats per second. Some sphinx moths have been clocked at speeds as high as 30 mph.

Sphinx moths are often mistaken for hummingbirds and bumblebees because of their similarities in size, foraging behavior and feeding structures. Many sphinx moths are nocturnal, but several species are diurnal, meaning they are active during the daytime when hummingbirds and bumblebees are also foraging. Adult sphinx moths have a long, straw-like "tongue," called the proboscis, which they keep curled under the head. They use it to suck nectar from the flower. The nectar is rich in sugar, which fuels the energy required for hovering.

It is not difficult to see why many gardeners would mistake an Hemaris thysbe moth for a small hummingbird as it hovers, sipping nectar from flowers through a long feeding tube. The moth hovers briefly, sipping for only a few seconds before darting off to a new flower. Green body "fur" and burgundy wing scales suggest a small ruby throated hummingbird.

Hummingbirds do not have striped backs. They do not usually appear to be brown. They will not let you approach them to get a closer look. If you believe you saw a brown, striped hummingbird, you probably saw the perfect hummingbird look-a-like. Hummingbird moths have disappointed many people who believed that they were seeing their first hummingbird.

Although you may have to wait a little longer to see a hummingbird, hummingbird moths are very interesting in their own right. Unlike most moths, they will fly during daylight. You can see many of them at any time of day but evening is the most productive time to watch for hummingbird moths.

Moths, including sphinx moths, pollinate many species of plants. Moth-pollinated flowers tend to have a strong, sweet scent and are white or pale in color. Gardens planted with these flowers may attract several kinds of sphinx moths, including the hummingbird and bumblebee mimics. However, since these moths rarely come into contact with flowers except for the tip of a carefully-placed foot, and, of course, their proboscis, they are not important pollinators.

(Information was compiled from several sources found via a Google search of the term 'Hummingbird Moth')