Is it a hummingbird? Is it a bee? No, it's a moth!

The first time I saw a Snowberry Clearwing Moth in the garden I wasn't entirely sure what it was. It had several hummingbird characteristics, it was fast moving (they can reach speeds of 35 mph), it had fast beating wings that hummed, and, it hovered over blossoms while it sipped nectar, but, its coloring, antennae, six legs and long, butterfly-like proboscis clearly said "this is an insect in the butterfly/moth family"! It didn't take long to identify it as Hemaris diffinis, a day-flying moth in the sphinx family.

These moths hover and stabilize their flight by resting their front legs on the flower blossom

The Snowberry Clearwing Moth is a mid to late summer visitor to my garden. They're really quite interesting looking moths and have the same yellow and black coloration as bumblebees. They have large eyes and a long tongue/proboscis perfectly adapted for reaching deep down in tubular flowers like summer phloxes, verbena and monarda for hidden nectar. They're good pollinators and like bees, pollen sticks to their hairy bodies and is transferred to other flowers as they move about the plant community.

Now, that I've just typed that paragraph, I'm not sure why I thought it was a hummer when it clearly resembles a bumblebee! Hemaris diffinis's bee mimicry worked on me and it probably does a pretty good job insuring it isn't an easy meal for a fast moving bird! Oh isn't nature amazing and oh so clever!

while the photo isn't the best, you can see the clear wings!

Now that summer is sort of winding down here in the Mid-South, I've been checking the Arrowwood viburnums, Southern bush honeysuckles and the Loniceras (host plants) for any of its emerald green eggs. So far I haven't found any, but,  I'll continue to keep a look out for them and any green hornworms as they search for the right spot in the leaf litter to pupate and wait the winter out. Maybe, I'll get lucky and see the moth emerge in the Spring!

bumble bee mimicry reduces predation

Until then, I'll enjoy them on warm summer days as they hover and dart about the garden.

xoxogail

Some Snowberry Clearwing Moth particulars:

Caterpillar Hosts: Snowberry/Symphoricarpos, honeysuckle/Lonicera, dogbane/Apocynum, Viburnum, hawthorn, cherry, plum and dwarf bush honeysuckle/Diervilla lonicera

Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including phlox, monarda, coreopsis, lantana, dwarf bush honeysuckle, snowberry, orange hawkweed, thistles, lilac, and Canada violet...Any good nectar source.
Habitat: A wide variety of open habitats, streamsides, fields, gardens, and suburbs....with plenty of leaf litter to hide in all winter!

Distribution map of Hemaris diffinis source

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

A beautiful flash of orange in the garden

 Had me running for the camera...I was sure it would be gone when I got back outside, but, there it was,  a gorgeous Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly whose orange wings are decorated with a checkerboard of black spots, lines and chevrons. The spangles in its name are in reference to the silvery spots on the underside of the hind wing.

It's a skittish butterfly and I carefully crept closer and managed to capture a photo that show its black lines, dots, crescents and squiggles before it flitted away! Even the caterpillars are skittish! Violets may be plentiful, but, the cats are rarely seen and I've read that they feed at night, burrowing back into the leaf litter during the day*

What a treat to see it in the garden! It's a big butterfly and appreciates a flower with strong stems like Phlox paniculata 'Jeana' and other rough and tumble wildflowers found at Clay and Limestone. You're more likely to have the GSF visit your garden if you have violets, have strong nectar plants and leave leaf litter in place*

I'm so glad I didn't scare it off!
Gardening really does take a great deal of patience and waiting around for good things to happen!
xoxogail

Great Spangled Fritillary: Speyeria cybele
Brushfoot Family Nymphalidae
Wing span: 2 1/2 - 4 inches (6.3 - 10.1 cm). 
Caterpillar hosts: Various violet species
Adult food: They aren't picky, but appreciate  milkweed, purple coneflowers, silky dogwood, thistle, white crownsbeard, ragwort, sumac mistflower, ragwort, ironweed, zinnias, phlox and mountain mints. 
Habitat: Open, moist places including fields, valleys, pastures, right-of-ways, meadows, open woodland, prairies anywhere near where violets grow.
Garden Habit:  Males patrol open areas for females. Eggs are laid in late summer on or near their host plant violets and the newly-hatched caterpillars eat the egg cases, then overwinter until spring in a state of dispause in the leaf litter on the garden/woodland floor. In the spring they make their way to young violet leaves and begin eating. it will emerge two or three weeks after it pupates.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.