Observation date: August 05, 2013
Submitted by: BKesselring
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: Saw this moth on August 5, 2013 when I was collecting pictures of a butterfly. There were a number of pollinators on our flowers around 4 pm. It was breezy, and temps were in the low 70's or high 60's. It was a mostly cloudy afternoon.
I read that it is difficult to tell from the photo, in the report I looked at today, if this is a Hemaris thysbe or a Hemaris diffinis. Because it was so recently that I took the picture and observed this moth I can add that initially it was a bit confusing to me, as well as to my husband and daughter. This moth looked so similar to the bumble bees which were also present when we were in that garden area. It was a very busy pollinator day, with a red-spotted purple admiral, other bees, and a cabbage white. In addition, I was confused because a similar moth, when I have observed before, is a bit bigger, plus there is more red on the other moth. Because this was looking too much like the bumble bees, I would suspect it is a Hemaris diffinis. I just now submitted pictures from 2012 of a moth that I believe is a Hemaris thysbe which my husband photographed on August 24, 2012. [I have gone back into that one and added my photo of the Hemaris thysbe from August 11, 2013.]
I am adding a comment after seeing a Hemaris thysbe on August 11, 2013 on a bloom of the same buddleia, which is the bloom that this moth is also feeding at. If you can look at both pictures, it is apparent that this one is most likely a Hemaris diffinis based on the size of the moth, and the coloration. The blooms are consistent in size and this moth is considerably smaller than in that 2nd picture I have added, today, of the Hemaris thysbe in another submission.
Status: Resident
Verified by: designandsound13
Verified date: August 21, 2013
Coordinator notes: Thank you for the submission!
