Hemaris thysbe
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth
Hemaris thysbe is the largest of the three "clearwing" sphinx encountered in Massachusetts.
Hemaris thysbe does not have the much more contrasting yellow abdominal segments suggesting a bumblebee as in the much smaller Hemaris diffinis. The outer dark wing margins are also much narrower in H. diffinis, and there are black lines on the ventral surface of thorax of H. diffinis.The side shot of Hemaris thysbe shows off-white dorsal leg colouration and an absence of the dark red bands on the underside of the thorax, present in Hemaris gracilis. |  |
Hemaris diffinis, Tom Gagnon's verbena plantation, Northampton, courtesy of Barbara Spencer.
In the above image of H. diffinis the very narrow dark margins of the hindwings are especially visible.In the ventral shot to the right, the black lines on the thorax are well ilustrated. The dorsal surfaces of the legs are also black. Hemaris diffinis, courtesy of Barbara Spencer. |
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Hemaris gracilis, Cummington, Massachusetts, June 9, 2004, courtesy of Barbara Spencer.
Hemaris gracilis is intermediate in size between the larger thysbe and the smaller diffinis.Note the dorsal red colouration of the legs and the red areas on the ventral surface of the thorax. Dorsally the abdomen is red. The dark outer wing margins are wide as in H. thysbe, and, abutting the hyaline (clear) area, the margins are smooth as opposed to irregular in H. thysbe. |  |
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