Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Hemaris thysbe

lives in Alaska and the Northwest Territories south through British Columbia to Oregon; east through the Great Plains and the Great Lakes area to Maine and Newfoundland; south to Florida and Texas. They have a two inch wingspan.

They hover in midair while they feed on nectar from flowers and are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds. This hovering capability has evolved only three times in nectar feeders: in hummingbirds, certain bats, and these sphingids. Sphingids have been much studied for their flying ability, especially their ability to move rapidly from side to side while hovering, called 'swing-hovering.' It is thought that this evolved to deal with ambush predators that lie in wait in flowers (Kitching, 2002). Sphingids are some of the fastest flying insects, some are capable of flying at over 30 miles per hour.
-Wikipedia
Photography (c) Maranda L. Scott