Rocky mountain clearwing moth

 

OK, not the best photos I have ever taken, but they have the value of being the first time I have ever seen this species.  My first guess as to its identification was that it was a bee-fly, the clear wings and long proboscis being indicative of the group.  However, an internet search did not reveal the insect's identity.  I vaguely recall seeing a lepidoptern group called clearwings, and was rewarded with that shard of memory in that it lead to a successful identification of the creature.

Clearwings are moths and belong to the same group as hawk-moths, although they are much smaller than them as a whole.  They have very good flying skills and were able to aptly move from blossom to blossom without the wildly chaotic meanderings typical of many of their kin.  Hawk-moths, also called sphynx-moths, are capable of hovering and show excellent control in flight.

Also known as California clearwings, these moths are not nocternal or even crepuscular as other moth species are.  Rather, they favour flying and searching for nectar during the day.  The caterpillars feed on snowberry, waxberry, and ghostberry plants.  Although the adults can be found in May, they have rather long lifespans and may be found as late as early September.  I photographed this individual this morning just east of the town of Winfield, BC.

I hope to go out in the next day or so and get some better photos.  I had my dog with me at the time and was shooting on a country roadway, not the best practice in either photography or pet management.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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