I have been seeing two of these Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) hummingbird moths here for several days now. Like the hummingbirds, bees and butterflies, this sphinx moth also prefers the butterfly bushes. It’s wings are transparent with reddish borders, and and the way it hovers near the flowers reminds me of a bumblebee. It is rarely still and very difficult to get a photograph of, although I did find one at rest on one of my flowers last year and was able to take several photos of it then, with a better view of it’s clear wings. These two have been nectaring alongside the butterflies. Click on any of the photos to enlarge.
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Hummingbird moth on white butterfly bush
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Hummingbird moth and Fritillary Butterfly
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Drinking from flower
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Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moths
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Edited to add: Here are some larger, clearer photographs of a Snowberry Clearwing.
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Related posts:
Pink and striped hummingbird moth
About hummingbird moths
Sphinx Moth
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These are great captures, especially for a very moving target!
Hi Louise, yes, they are very hard to capture since they are so rarely still. I actually got to see two of the night-flying types this week. They’re such fascinating little creatures.
[...] beds this week. I was able to get very close to this one, and she was quite a bit larger than the clearwing I saw in my yard last week. Click on the photos to view detail in large, desktop sized versions of [...]
[...] Another hummingbird moth Snowberry Clearwing hummingbird moth [...]