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Posts Tagged "Hemaris thysbe"

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe)

Posted on Jul 23, 2016

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe)

Here we have the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) to kick off National Moth Week (July 23-31), appropriately photographed yesterday in a gratifying yet frustrating experience. I found it feeding on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) while watering in the morning, and because I was watering I did not have my camera (always a great tactic to ensure a good sighting). After running back inside and all the way around…yep, still there. Great. As usual with wildlife I approached it with caution, slowly, shooting while closing in on the moth. The species moves quickly while...

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Hummingbird Clearwing Moth in action

Posted on Aug 5, 2014

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth in action

Last week I was fortunate to see this Hummingbird Clearwing Moth zipping around the gardens here at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. It flew from flower to flower trying to get in to each as far as possible to feed. As you may be able to see in the photos the clouds were coming and going but at least it was remaining sunny and dry for much of the day. The recent weather – being cooler and far wetter than average – is likely taking a toll on some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and Odonata (damselflies and dragonflies) species. At the very least it is...

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Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) feeding

Posted on Jul 27, 2014

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) feeding

We’ll end National Moth Week with some field shots of the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) taken by Twan. If you missed the original post with more information on the confusing and unique species and Sean’s Meet Your Neighbours photo see it here: http://rtpi.org/hummingbird-clearwing-moth/

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Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Posted on Jul 23, 2014

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

As we continue National Moth Week here’s the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) shot Meet Your Neighbours style. At this point of the summer we always receive a number of inquiries concerning the identity of these tiny mysterious creatures that appear to be miniature hummingbirds zooming around yards and gardens. These insects also visit the flowers that are favored by hummingbirds, quickly stopping for nectar and moving on. Their fast wings can reach 30 beats a second! We tend to think of moths as nocturnal creatures but this member of the Sphinx moth family (Sphingidae) is...

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