European and American hummingbird moths grab the attention of casual observers. They are large and the ones that fly by day will hover at flowers to drink nectar. Records of sightings are valuable if date, location, and species information are included with the comments.
Hummingbird Moth Sightings
An article about the European Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum) has over 60 comments from readers giving dates and locations of sightings. The British sightings (referring to this species) give dates of between 5 April and 3 November, and locations from as far north as Scotland (just outside Stirling).
Comments from American readers (which cannot refer to the European moth) range from 24 March in Texas to 20 September in Michigan with one commentator pointing out that, "We don't have this species in America, but we do have many others in the same family."
If readers' comments posted on this article include record dates and locations of the American Clearwings, and if it is possible to identify the species using the Butterflies and Moths of North America website, useful scientific data can be generated.
The Hummingbird Clearwing
The Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) is a typical clearwing, often described as a "hummingbird mimic". It can be found as far north as Alaska, and south down to Florida and Texas where it flies by day and sips nectar from a range of flowers. It has a wingspan of around two inches, and hovers while feeding – looking like a small Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
The caterpillars eat hawthorn and honeysuckle leaves, and then pupate in cocoons at soil level. The adults are seen flying from March through to September.
The Snowberry Clearwing
The Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) is often described as a "Bumblebee mimic" It is a close relative of the Hummingbird Clearwing and is nearly as abundant.
Caterpillars feed on snowberry and honeysuckle, then pupate in cocoons spun in leaf litter on the ground.
The adults feed on nectar from a wide range of flowers (including snowberry).
Hummingbird and Bumblebee Mimicry
The advantage of a moth being confused for a bumblebee is easy to understand. Once predators have become familiar with the warning pattern of a (stinging) bee they will presumably avoid any bumblebee mimic. The Snowberry Clearwing will suffer less from predation.
What advantage comes to a hummingbird mimic (as the Hummingbird Clearwing is often described) is more difficult to understand. Maybe predators can be expected to have realised that hummingbirds are excellent aerial acrobats and therefore given up trying to catch them, or maybe there is a misunderstanding.
Just because Hummingbird Clearwings look like hummingbirds to human eyes is no guarantee that this is how other creatures perceive them. Birds and insects see a wider spectrum than humans, and it is possible that the hummingbird resemblance is a result of human vision characteristics and perception.
Sources:
'Hemaris thysbe - Hummingbird Clearwing', Butterflies and Moths of North America.
'Hemaris diffinis - Snowberry Clearwing', Butterflies and Moths of North America.
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