Hemaris thysbe photo courtesy of Praveen Mutalik

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 Subfamily: Macroglossinae Genus: Hemaris (Dalman, 1816) was Sesia........... Species: thysbe (Fabricius, 1775)

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DISTRIBUTION:

Hemaris thysbe, the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth or Common Clearwing (wingspan 38-50 mm), readily visits flowers by day throughout the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada, where it ranges far to the north. It is not difficult to see why many gardeners would mistake an Hemaris thysbe moth for a small hummingbird as it hovers, sipping nectar from flowers through a long feeding tube. The moth hovers briefly, sipping for only a few seconds before darting off to a new flower. Green body "fur" and burgundy wing scales suggest a small ruby throated hummingbird.

FLIGHT TIMES:

In Canada, single-brooded Hemaris thysbe stock flies in June and July. On June 1, 1999 (early spring), I captured two Hemaris thysbe nectaring on blackberry blossoms here on Prince Edward Island, Canada. These Hummingbird clearwings were on the wing from mid to late June in 2000 (more typical weather).

In New Jersey there are at least two broods of this hawkmoth and in Louisiana there are six broods at thirty day intervals with the first brood peaking at the end of March.

ECLOSION:

Regular sized moths emerge from seemingly small pupae when this species is reared in captivity. Larvae pupate in thin walled cocoons under leaf litter. Scan to right shows cocoon formed under a paper towel.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Females call in the males with a pheromone released from a gland at the tip of the abdomen.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:

Hemaris thysbe larvae feed on viburnum and related plants and the clearwing adults captured with a butterfly net on June 1, were put in a sleeve over growing viburnum. The sleeves I use are made out of a very light weight material called Remay cloth. The cloth is intended as a spring garden cover. The sleeve is more like a sock, six feet long with a six foot circumference. I pull it over a few branches of viburnum and then insert the captured moths. Pale green eggs were deposited singly on the undersides of foliage and small larvae remained well camouflaged, resting on the ventral mid-leaf vein.

A second instar larva is depicted above and to the right. This lateral view of a second instar hornworm larva reveals the faint orangy-red spiracular circles and relatively large head and well developed anal horn. Larvae remain well camouflaged in rearing sleeves, and, in the early instars, only the constant rain of small droppings assures their presence. The larva to the right is approximately 3/4 inch long.

On July 9, I took several fifth instar larvae from the sleeve. One is depicted to the right. The anal horn is now blue and body bulk makes head of a mre reasonable proportion. Just a few days later, the top half of the larvae turned purple and they began to leave foliage in preparation for pupation. I placed them in a paper sandwich bag under some loose paper towelling and then placed the entire bag in a dark bucket.

Scan by Bill Oehlke

Pupae are deceptively small, dark brown, and smooth-skinned. These three were removed from thin walled cocoons spunup under paper towelling. They will be stored between layers of tissue in ziploc containers placed in a mini fridge.

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