It's a Moth, It's a Hummingbird, It's a Hummingbird Moth!!!

This little fellow was spotted in my daughter's back yard a few days ago. Well, not this one; she tried taking pictures but none turned out because they were all blurry.

She said at first she thought it was a bug, but it moved like a hummingbird.  Finally, she found out what it was: a hummingbird moth!  I never knew there was such a thing.  Isn't it cute?

It sort of looks like a bumblebee, too. And it's fuzzy-looking, like a bee. But its movements are like that of a hummingbird, because it flits very quickly from flower to flower and hovers while it eats.  Unlike most moths, it comes out during daylight hours. It even hums like hummingbirds do, probably from the quick beating of its wings.

From what we can tell the one she saw was a Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth. Although its wings don't appear clear in these photos, usually the wings are covered in scales, but some species lose the scales; thus the name 'clearwing.'

Hummingbird moths are sort of plump and their tails open into a fan shape. They have a very long tongue which stays rolled up under their chins until they come upon a flower with the nectar that interests them. They tend to like phlox, monarda, honeysuckle, and verbena.

Here is a picture of a hummingbird moth on phlox flowers.