Photo: Snowberry Clearwing, Judy Gallagher
Judy Gallagher is an ASNV board member and a regular surveyor of local wildlife who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species. Here are some observations from her most recent survey.
Hummingbird Clearwing, Judy Gallagher
If you've been out at a pollinator garden recently, you've probably seen tiny hummingbirds zooming from one pink or purple flower to another. But what you're likely seeing is a day-flying moth, either a Hummingbird Clearwing or a Snowberry Clearwing. They fly and move just like hummingbirds, and can remain suspended in the air in front of a flower while they unfurl their long tongues and sip nectar from a flower. They even hum like hummingbirds.
Snowberry Clearwing, Judy Gallagher
This Snowberry Clearwing didn't bother to retract its tongue while flying between flowers.
Hummingbird Clearwing, Judy Gallagher
Looking like a hummingbird might give the moth some protection from predation. A moth would be tasty, but a feisty hummingbird not so much. It's hard to freeze these moths' wing action, as they can beat their wings up to 70 times per second!
Snowberry Clearwing, Judy Gallagher
They are called Clearwing Moths because they lose scales from patches on their wings, leaving areas of transparency. Hummingbird and Snowberry Clearwing Moths are members of the Sphinx Moth family, but there is another whole family of moths called Clearwings which may be the subject of a future column.
Unlike many other moths, Hummingbird and Snowberry Clearwings don't have hearing organs. Moth hearing organs are often used to detect bat calls, and since these Clearwings are day-flying moths, they don't need them.
Hummingbird Clearwing, Judy Gallagher
Snowberry Clearwing, Judy Gallagher
So how do you tell these beauties apart? The easiest distinguishing characteristic is that Hummingbird Clearwings have pale legs and Snowberry Clearwings have black legs. The Hummingbird Clearwing has an olive back and a red-brown abdomen, and the Snowberry Clearwing is usually yellow and black with a black line running through its eyes and down its sides.
The adult moths nectar on various flowers, but the caterpillars are a little more picky. The Hummingbird Clearwing caterpillar feeds on Viburnum, Honeysuckle, Snowberry, Cherry, Hawthorn and Plum. The Snowberry Clearwing caterpillar feeds on Honeysuckle, Snowberry and Dogbane. When the caterpillars are ready to pupate, they drop to the ground and form fairly nondescript pupae. So gardeners beware: if you remove leaf litter from your garden, you will likely also be getting rid of your Clearwing Moth population.
I hope all of you will see some of these incredibly fast and beautiful moths this season.
View all of Judy’s Observations from Meadowood articles here.