Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

The Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) is one of the most asked about insects at the BioWorks Butterfly Garden. This moth moves in the same hovering motions as a hummingbird, is beautifully colorful and is generally seen nectaring around gardens in the late afternoon. If you have ever seen what appears to be a tiny hummingbird about 2 1/2 inches in wingspan in your garden, this just may have been what you saw.

Most butterflies and moths have scales that cover their entire wings. In fact the order Lepidoptera takes its name for the Greek for ‘Scaled-wings’. Butterfly and moth wings are made of two chitonous membrane layers that are supported by a network of tiny veins. Over those membranes overlap scales and setae (hairs) that help to provide structure and strength for the wing. These tiny wing scales are individually colored which provides the color and patterns on the wing of the butterfly. With Hummingbird Clearwing Moths, portions of their wings lack scales which creates windows in their wings where the the clear chitonous membrane at the center of the wing is visible.

Hummingbird Clearwing larvae host on Honeysuckle (Lonicera), snowberry (Symphoricarpos), hawthorns (Crataegus), cherries and plums (Prunus), and European cranberry bush (Viburnum opulus). They pupate just under the soil beneath these trees (click here to see a pupa photo).