Snowberry Clearwing

Fascinating facts about the Snowberry Clearwing

• The snowberry clearwing measures between 32 and 51 mm in length, a modest size for a sphingid. Its wings are unusual because they lack the dense covering of scales that most moths possess, especially across the central surface, which makes the membranes look almost glassy. Shortly after emerging from the pupa, the moth sheds any remaining scales, a consequence of its highly active flying style that keeps the wings clear and lightweight.
• The abdomen of Hemaris diffinis is banded in yellow and black, a pattern that closely mirrors that of a bumblebee and often leads observers to mistake the moth for the insect. This colouration is reinforced by a flight style that mimics the rapid, hovering movement typical of hummingbird moths, adding to the illusion of a bee in flight. The combination of visual and behavioural mimicry helps the clearwing blend into environments where bumblebees are common.
• In parts of Appalachia, particularly West Virginia, Hemaris diffinis is known as the "hummingbird moth" and also as the "flying lobster".
• While it normally flies by day like other hummingbird moths, it will keep buzzing into dusk if a rich nectar source is found. The species is active in daylight, hovering at flowers much as its relatives do. When a plentiful bloom is discovered, it often extends its foraging into the evening, taking advantage of late-opening blossoms. This behaviour lets it harvest nectar that many daytime insects miss.
• In the United States it has been recorded from southern California and Baja California Norte across to Illinois, and further east from Maine through West Virginia to Florida. Its range also reaches into Canada, where it occurs in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, southern Ontario, eastern Manitoba and western Quebec.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Snowberry Clearwing

In the warm, sun-drenched meadows of North America, the Snowberry Clearwing hummingbird moth dances on iridescent wings, its transparent scales glimmering like stained glass as it flits from flower to flower. With a hypnotic, hovering flight, this enchanting creature sips nectar from tubular blooms, its long, extendable tongue uncoiling like a ghostly thread to gather the sweet rewards of its aerial wanderings. As it moves through the world, the Snowberry Clearwing leaves a trail of whispered wonder, its ethereal beauty and captivating behavior weaving a spell of enchantment over all who are lucky enough to behold it.

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