It is not difficult to see why many people would mistake this moth for a small hummingbird, they have similarities in size, foraging behavior, and feeding structures. This moth is most often seen during the day, hovering over flowers and sipping the nectar through a long feeding tube (proboscis). The moth hovers briefly, sipping for only a few seconds before darting off to a new flower, just like a hummingbird.The Hummingbird Clearwing Moth is native to Georgia and can be found throughout the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada. Its host plants include honeysuckle, hawthorns, viburnum, and black cherry. Their caterpillars are often referred to as “horn worms” due to having a horn-like tail. They are in the family Sphingidae, a group also known as Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths. This family includes the notorious the tomato hornworm as well an estimated 850 other species worldwide.
To see a bit of the amazing hummingbird/sphinx/hawk moth diversity see this site: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/sphinx_moth_2.html
To see a previous post on the tomato hornworm see:
http://katalystdesigns.blogspot.com/2007/06/hornworm.html
