Bumblebee/Butterfly in Pennsylvania
September 10, 2009
Hi, I saw this great bug outside of a butterfly exhibit in north central Pennsylvania this summer. The butterfly “experts” were not able to identify it. Any thoughts?
Thanks, Ben
North central Pennsylvania, Allenwood, Clyde Peeling’s Reptileland park
Hi Ben,
In defense of the butterfly experts, probably just like many of the workers in the giant hardware store chains, they are untrained students who work for a very low wage and are not given much on the job training or information. When was the last time the person in the plumbing department was able to answer your question? Your insect is a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, Hemaris thysbe. You can see more images and get additional information on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website.
