Attributes of Hemaris thysbe

Hummingbird Clearwing
Hemaris thysbe (Fabricius, 1775)

Family: Sphingidae
Subfamily: Macroglossinae
Identification: Adult appearance is variable; Hummingbird mimic. The thorax is olive to golden-olive in color dorsally, yellow ventrally; abdomen is dark burgundy (sometimes almost black) both dorsally and ventrally, with light olive to dark golden patches dorsally. Wings mostly clear with reddish brown terminal borders and dark scaling along veins. While wing maculation is too variable to be 100% diagnostic, thysbe typically has thick terminal borders and the discal cell is typically covered or bisected by dark scales. However, thysbe can always be distinguished from gracilis and diffinis by two characteristics: 1) the lack of any banding on the lateral side of the thorax; 2) thysbe always has yellowish or pale colored legs.
Wing Span: 1 9/16 - 2 3/16 inches (4 - 5.5 cm).
Life History: Adults fly during the day, and hover at flowers to sip nectar. Caterpillars pupate in cocoons spun at the soil surface.
Flight: Two broods in the south from March-June and August-October; one brood in the north from April-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Honeysuckle (Lonicera), snowberry (Symphoricarpos), hawthorns (Crataegus), cherries and plums (Prunus), and European cranberry bush (Viburnum opulus).
Adult Food: Nectar from a wide variety of flowers including Japanese honeysuckle, beebalm, red clover, lilac, phlox, snowberry, cranberry, blueberry, vetch, and thistles.
Habitat: Open and second-growth habitats, gardens, and suburbs.
Range: Alaska and the Northwest Territories south through British Columbia to Oregon; east through the Great Plains and the Great Lakes area to Maine and Newfoundland; south to Florida and Texas.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes:

Images of Hemaris thysbe

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Hemaris thysbe - hummingbirdclearwing-Leslie.jpg

Hemaris thysbe - hummingbirdclearwing-Leslie.jpg
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Hemaris thysbe - Hemaris_thysbe-Seth-Loe-crop.jpg

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Hemaris thysbe - Hemaris_gracilisMiller1.jpg
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Hemaris thysbe - Hemaris_thysbeCottrell.jpg

Hemaris thysbe - Hemaris_thysbeCottrell.jpg




The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.

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The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.

Observation Date Submitter Region Verified Datesort icon
April 21, 2013 mdolomieu1 Greene County, Missouri, United States April 22, 2013 Details
April 21, 2013 CA Ivy Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States April 22, 2013 Details
April 14, 2013 Cdubyabee15 Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States April 14, 2013 Details
July 16, 2011 Ilona L. Dane County, Wisconsin, United States February 15, 2013 Details
May 06, 2007 curtis.lehman (Paul Dennehy) Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States February 11, 2013 Details
August 15, 1997 curtis.lehman (Paul Dennehy) Fulton County, Pennsylvania, United States February 11, 2013 Details
August 11, 2012 cat0271 Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States February 09, 2013 Details
August 16, 2012 toddewen Ingham County, Michigan, United States February 08, 2013 Details
July 28, 2010 Debbie Taylor Pope County, Arkansas, United States January 02, 2013 Details
July 28, 2011 jrscappini Kent County, Rhode Island, United States December 23, 2012 Details
September 27, 2012 garylittle Muscogee County, Georgia, United States November 01, 2012 Details
September 28, 2012 garylittle Muscogee County, Georgia, United States November 01, 2012 Details
September 01, 2008 mskayak Kent County, Rhode Island, United States October 15, 2012 Details
August 04, 2012 ellenjones6 Franklin County, New York, United States October 15, 2012 Details
August 04, 2012 ellenjones6 Franklin County, New York, United States October 15, 2012 Details
August 26, 2012 Chip Krilowicz Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States October 13, 2012 Details
August 25, 2012 Maryann C Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States October 03, 2012 Details
August 29, 2011 mskayak Dukes (Martha's Vineyard) County, Massachusetts, United States September 28, 2012 Details
July 31, 2011 G_G_G Quebec, Canada September 27, 2012 Details
August 18, 2012 novembergale Chautauqua County, New York, United States September 23, 2012 Details
August 24, 2012 prblmsau Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States September 22, 2012 Details
August 26, 2012 WrEgl Lowndes County, Georgia, United States September 21, 2012 Details
August 04, 2012 springleaf Orleans County, Vermont, United States September 17, 2012 Details
July 20, 2012 BetsyNYC Suffolk County, New York, United States September 17, 2012 Details
July 17, 2012 HKusmierz Washington County, Rhode Island, United States September 16, 2012 Details
August 26, 2012 skenaga Madison County, Indiana, United States September 13, 2012 Details
July 21, 2012 rsone57 Oneida County, New York, United States September 11, 2012 Details
July 18, 2012 geocachelinda Saratoga County, New York, United States September 11, 2012 Details
July 24, 2012 khemeon Bennington County, Vermont, United States September 10, 2012 Details
August 15, 2012 kelly Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States September 10, 2012 Details
July 29, 2012 Idun Guenther Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States September 10, 2012 Details
September 07, 2012 gheimer Ontario, Canada September 09, 2012 Details
September 02, 2012 MarFole Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States September 08, 2012 Details
September 03, 2012 Matt ODonnell Prince William County, Virginia, United States September 03, 2012 Details
July 20, 2012 ybhpkdl-2 Elmore County, Alabama, United States September 01, 2012 Details
August 02, 2012 jbrehm Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States September 01, 2012 Details
August 11, 2011 cruelnight Manitoba, Canada August 31, 2012 Details
August 24, 2012 toddewen Ingham County, Michigan, United States August 31, 2012 Details
August 30, 2012 Nikki Taylor Michigan, United States August 31, 2012 Details
July 10, 2012 OutlanderGirl Baltimore County, Maryland, United States August 30, 2012 Details
August 22, 2008 greg4sx20is Lake County, Indiana, United States August 30, 2012 Details
August 21, 2012 greg4sx20is Porter County, Indiana, United States August 30, 2012 Details
August 13, 2012 doeffinger Baltimore County, Maryland, United States August 30, 2012 Details
July 14, 2012 mom2krb Cayuga County, New York, United States August 29, 2012 Details
July 25, 2012 mom2krb Erie County, New York, United States August 29, 2012 Details
May 27, 2012 Diane Ontario, Canada August 29, 2012 Details
May 20, 2012 sharin Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States August 29, 2012 Details
August 13, 2012 hdiodati Quebec, Canada August 28, 2012 Details
August 19, 2012 mothpeterson Will County, Illinois, United States August 27, 2012 Details
August 27, 2009 AngelaCoco Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States August 22, 2012 Details