Hemaris diffinis, Killeen, Bell County, Texas,
ovipositing on Coral Honeysuckle, (Lonicera sempervirens),
around 3:20pm, May 4, 2011, courtesy of Eric Runfeldt.

Hemaris diffinis egg, Killeen, Bell County, Texas,
green egg on Coral Honeysuckle, (Lonicera sempervirens),
May 4, 2011, courtesy of Eric Runfeldt.

Mischocyttarus phthicus, hunting? , Killeen, Bell County, Texas,
on Coral Honeysuckle, (Lonicera sempervirens),
May 4, 2011, courtesy of Eric Runfeldt.

I am not one hundred percent sure of my identification of this female. Eric sent it as Hemaris thysbe, and he may be correct. Because of the black body, however, and absence of a definitive inward projection from the forewing marginal area, I think it is more likely Hemaris diffinis.

Both species would fly in Eric's area, and both species use honeysuckle as a larval host, although thysbe more often uses Viburnum species.

Subsequently Eric indicated that more extensive observation led him toward a determination of Hemaris diffinis as well.

Many wasps and other predatory insects feed on caterpillars. The barely visible Mischocyttarus phthisicus on the upper side of the "egg leaf" is already "casting its shadow".

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TAXONOMY: Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802 Subfamily: Macroglossinae, Harris, 1839 Tribe: Dilophonotini, Burmeister, 1878 Genus: Hemaris (Dalman, 1816) ........... Species: diffinis (Boisduval, 1836)

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