What is this?
Location: Northwest Indiana
August 2, 2011 8:33 am
We found this, I’m assuming it a moth of some kind on our screen door after a storm
Signature: Shirley

Pandora Sphinx

Dear Shirley,
This beautifully patterned moth is a Pandora Sphinx, Eumorpha pandorus.  Should you desire more information, you can search its name on our search engine, or click the thumbnails beneath this posting (on our website, not on the email) or visit the Sphingidae of the Americas website.

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Moth? on Evening Primrose
Location: Bedford, VA
July 31, 2011 3:56 pm
This moth is visiting an evening primrose. This was happening after dark Bedford, VA during July after the evening primrose had blossomed out. It blooms out about in about a half hour after sunset and the moth is seen after dark. I thought it to be a hawk moth but could not specifically identify. Note the long beak.
Signature: Ben Shrader

Five Spotted Hawkmoth

Hi Ben,
What a positively marvelous photo of a Five Spotted Hawkmoth, Manduca quinquemaculata, nectaring from an Evening Primrose.  The Five Spotted Hawkmoth is also called the Tomato Hornworm in the larval stage, and you might have found these large, green caterpillars with a caudal horn.  We had a bit of difficulty with this identification because the namesake yellow spots are ont visible because of the angle of the wings.  You can view The Sphingidae of the Americas for more information.

Thanks, I have several on a distribution list in which at least one of them had identified as you but this confirms with confidence.
Ben Shrader

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Hummingbird Clearwing Moth??
Location: Saxtons River, Vermont
July 31, 2011 7:00 am
Hi Daniel,
The guy was darting around in my vast stands of bee balm yesterday. I searched your site and initially believed it’s a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, but I’m not certain. Is that correct?
Signature: K L Thalin

Snowberry Clearwing

Hi Daniel,
Karen Thalin here, from Saxtons River, Vermont.
I JUST sent you a (two photo) submission on the web site of what I THINK is a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, taken by me in my gardens yesterday. I was again looking through all my pix after hitting the “send” button, and realized that I had this one, which shows the color very well, even though the image is a bit blurry. This guy seems to be a little different than the HCM photos I’ve looked at on your site. It has bumble bee coloring. I’m not sending THIS email/photo to be published, but only to give you another view of the moth, if that will help with identifying it.
Thanks!
KT

Snowberry Clearwing

Hi Karen,
The best place to identify Sphinx Moths is on The Sphingidae of the Americas website because you can search by individual states.  There are three species of diurnal Sphinx Moths in the genus Hemaris listed for Vermont, and we believe you have photographed the Snowberry Clearwing or Bumblebee Moth, Hemaris diffinis.  The Hummingbird Clearwing is another member of the genus.  The Snowberry Clearwing is described on The Sphingidae of the Americas as being:  “a very variable species, but almost always the abdomen sports contrasting black and yellow hairs, the ventral surface being quite black. The legs also tend to be quite dark and there is a black mask running across the eye and along the sides of the thorax.” 

Thank you, Daniel! It’s funny because after I sent this submission this morning, I saw a true Hummingbird Clearwing Moth in the same stand of bee balm! It was difficult to get a clear short, but this one is clearly very different than the Snowberry. I checked my photo against those on the site you recommended, and it certainly looks to be the HCM. They are found all along the east coast in way up into Canada.
Thanks, again.
Karen

Hi Karen,
We are happy you mentioned the Bee Balm, a species of Monarda, one of the best flowers to plant for both pollinating insects like butterflies and diurnal Sphinx Moths as well as real hummingbirds.

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Sphinx Moths meet Hello Kitty
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
July 26, 2011 4:32 pm
Dear Bugman,
Late the other night (7/21/2011), here in Southeastern Pennsylvania, I was delighted to find four Sphinx Moths flying around my floodlight. My question is: Are they Manduca sexta (Carolina Sphinx) or Manduca quinquemaculata (Five-spotted Hawkmoth)? I just can’t tell! I sure did enjoy getting up close and personal with them, though–it was hard getting them off of me! I think they like Hello Kitty! Thanks so much for your help!
Signature: Diane Cameron, insect enthusiast

Waved Sphinxes

Hi Diane,
Your confusion over the identity of these Sphinx Moths is understandable.  They are actually very pale Waved Sphinxes, Ceratomia undulosa, and they are in the same tribe, Sphingini, as the Carolina Sphinx and the Five Spotted Hawkmoth.  Our favorite way to identify Sphinx Moths is to begin with the Sphingidae of the United States website, and then go to the state listing for Pennsylvania, and then click through the possibilities until we find a match.  That is where we found the Waved Sphinx which is part of the Sphingidae of the Americas website.

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