Subject: Re: Help with strange insect!

From: Chuck Vaughn <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 9 Jun 1996 20:22:15 -0700

>So. It was very strange because it looked and flew like a hummingbird. It
>was hovering at the flowers on this tree (I don't know what kind of
>tree),

Sounds like a Sphinx Moth. You don't see them very often because they come
out at night or at dusk. There are thousands of species worldwide so it's
impossible to say which one you saw. Have you ever seen a Tomato Hornworm?
It's that huge long catepillar with a horn at the rear. That's a typical
larvae for a Sphinx Moth. They pupate underground so you seldom see that
stage either.

Chuck Vaughn   <[email-masked]>    http://www.aa6g.org/lepidoptera.html

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: 12 Jun 1996 13:05:34 GMT

[email-masked] (Shulamis ) writes:

> It was very strange because it looked and flew like a hummingbird.

[etc. del]

There are four species in the genus Hemaris (synonym: Haemorrhagia) in the
Family Sphingidae (i.e. Sphinx Moths): 

The Clearwing Hummingbird (H. thysbe) found from Newfoundland to Florida
across to Texas and then north to British Columbia and Alaska. 

The Snowberry Clearwing (H. diffinis) found virtually throughout the
United States and southern Canada and north to the NWT. 

The Slender Clearwing (H. gracilis) is found from Eastern Canada, west to
Wisconsin and Michigan and south to Florida. 

The California Clearwing (H. senta) is known from Colorado, Utah, Wyoming
and British Columbia. 

These moths emerge from their chrysalis with wings scaled like all other
Sphinx moths, however, the scales are very loosely attached and soon fall
off giving the moths their distinctive "clearwing" appearance. They hover
at flowers sipping nectar, much like Hummingbirds do. They take nectar
>from  many different blossoms. They range in size from a maximum of 1 1/8" 
(wingspan 2 3/8") of (H. thysbe) to 3/4" (1.5" wingspan) (H. diffinis & H.
senta). 

Cheers!

Christopher Majka
--
| Christopher Majka - Editor-in-Chief: Chebucto Community Net    |
| Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada -- EMail: <[email-masked]>  |
| URL = http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Home.html                      |