Hemaris diffinis
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(Boisduval, 1836) Macroglossa diffinis
Snowberry Clearwing or Bumblebee Moth

Hemaris diffinis prepupal larva, near Gull Lake, Alberta,
August 14, 2011, photo courtesy of Robert Bercha of larva found by friend.

Robert Bercha confirms Hemaris diffinis in Gull Lake area with an image of a prepupal larva. Robert writes, "A friend of mine found this caterpillar on August 14, 2011 near Gull Lake, Alberta. Possibly a sphinx moth caterpillar of some type? Thought you might be interested."

I reply, "You are correct it is a Sphingidae larva, Hemaris diffinis, the Snowberry Clearwing I request permission to post images from links on diffinis file and also on Alberta Sphingidae page.

On August 18 Robert responds, "Thank you for your note back. The caterpillar just pupated today. I’m guessing I need to put it into cold storage for a couple of weeks to get a moth? Any suggestions on the best way to do this?

My thoughts and suggestions: "Because of the date and your location, this pupa may or may not yield a moth this summer. I would not put it into cold storage because the larva may not have developed the enzyme needed to survive a prolonged chill. I suggest you give the pupa about four or five days for the pupal shell to harden and then keep it in an emergence container as described in Care of Found Larvae/Caterpillars: Manduca sexta August 21, 2008, Trina Woodall.

"If it has not eclosed by end of September, then would be the time to put it into cold storage for the winter months. In the spring you could then treat it as per the notes on the same webpage linked above. Cold storage recommendations are also described on the same link. Please let me know what happens for future reference. The moth might eclose in as few as two weeks from pupation date."

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY:

Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802
Subfamily: Macroglossinae, Harris, 1839
Tribe: Dilophonotini, Burmeister, 1878
Genus: Hemaris (Dalman, 1816) ...........
Species: diffinis (Boisduval, 1836)

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