Clearwing Moth – Welcome to a photographic journey through the fields, woods and marshes of New England

Find more of my photographs and information similar to that which I post in this blog in my book Naturally Curious, which is being published this fall.

HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH

So many readers mentioned another sphinx moth, the hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemeris thysbe), after yesterday's post that I decided to put a photograph of it on my blog today, rather than save it for another day. Both the gallium sphinx moth and the clearwing were feeding on milkweed nectar yesterday afternoon. Because of its colors, as well as its hovering behavior, the hummingbird clearwing moth is often mistaken for a ruby-throated hummingbird as it drinks nectar from a variety of flowers. In its larval stage, it is a beautiful lime-green caterpillar with a prominent “horn” on its hind quarters.