Snowberry Clearwing

(Hemaris diffinis)

Appearance

  • The Snowberry Clearwing looks just like a hummingbird. The first time I saw it, I confused it with a hummingbird. 
  • It has a body around 1 to 1.5 inches in length.
  • It has a wide, furry, mottled yellow thorax, with brownish-yellow wings covered in scales! 
  • It has a very long tongue carried under the chin to suck nectar out of plants. It is almost the equivalent of a straw to a human.

Did you know?

  • The Snowberry Clearwing could also be referred to as the hummingbird moth or the flying lobster. 
  • The Snowberry Clearwing gets its name from the snowberry plant, a deciduous shrub. As a caterpillar, it adores the snowberry plant, indulging by munching up its leaves, and using it when cocooning.

Range

These are recorded sightings of the Snowberry Clearwing species. As you can see, they occupy the eastern and central parts of the United States. Click this link to view the different places where Snowberry Clearwings have been sighted: Butterflies and Moths of North America

Sources

Chesapeake Bay Program

United States Department of Agriculture

Butterflies and Moths of North America

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