Hummingbird Clearwing, Snowberry Clearwing & NESSUS SPHINX
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. These lovely
moths resemble baby hummingbirds in flight and appearance, but they are actually a type of day-flying sphinx moth.
Snowberry Clearwing moth. These moths resemble large bumblebees, and they are sometimes known as Bumblebee Moths. The individual at left was photographed beside the Great Miami River in Miamisburg.
Snowberry Clearwings typically fly from late June through early September, although I also have a few early sightings in April and May.
Hummingbird Clearwing moths have red and green bodies and white legs. Their close relatives, the Snowberry Clearwings (further below), have black-and-yellow bodies and black legs.
This is a Nessus Sphinx. I see these day-flying moths from May through early July. They nectar on flowers during the daytime, but they have never come to my moth lights at night.
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, nectaring at its favorite flower (wild bergamot).
Another Nessus Sphinx. This moth was sipping minerals from the riverbank at Germantown MetroPark. Photographed June 10, 2020.
Another Snowberry Clearwing, nectaring on wild bergamot. Notice the black legs. (A Hummingbird Clearwing would have white legs.)
Mated pair of Snowberry Clearwings at Germantown MetroPark.
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth nectaring on bottlebrush buckeye. These moths are very common in our area from late June through August (with stragglers into September). I have one early sighting on May 1st, but usually, I do not see this species until late June.
Snowberry Clearwing resting on a spent dandelion stem, at Caesar Creek.
Another Hummingbird Clearwing, with its proboscis curled up in flight.
