A hummingbird? An insect? What is it?

What hovers like a hummingbird, flies like a hummingbird but has antennae? A hummingbird moth. Aptly named, hummingbird moths can easily be mistaken for hummingbirds but they are a sphinx moth. 

Hummingbird moths can easily be mistaken for hummingbirds when they hover at a flower

Sphinx moths are one of the few groups of insects that can hover. Since a few species resemble hummingbirds and are active during the day (unlike most moths) they are commonly referred to as hummingbird moths.

Some of the more common hummingbird moths include the white-lined sphinx, snowberry clearwing and hummingbird clearwing.

Sphinx moths received their name from the sphinx-like posture of the larvae when they are disturbed. 

The caterpillars are commonly green with a horn on their rear end. Like other caterpillar species, hummingbird moth caterpillars live on host plants such as honeysuckle, hawthorns, viburnum, black cherry, dogbane and plums. 

Once fully grown, the caterpillars drop to the ground and spin a cocoon. Hidden in the leaf litter, the caterpillar pupates within the cocoon. In the north, the pupa stays in the cocoon overwinter and the adult emerges in the spring to feed and lay eggs on the host plants. 

Unlike most moths, hummingbird moths fly during the day

Like most butterflies and moths, hummingbird moths feed on nectar from plants such as honeysuckle, red clover, thistles, wild roses, blackberries, columbines, larkspurs, petunias and lilacs.

When a hummingbird moth arrives at a flower, it uncoils it proboscis (its long, thin, needle-like mouthpart) like a party noisemaker to reach the nectar deep inside the tubes of flowers. The proboscis often is as long as or longer than the moth’s body. When done, the moth coils its proboscis back under its chin as it flits to the next flower. Like hummingbirds and other butterflies, the hummingbird moth is a helpful pollinator for many flowers. 

One distinguishing characteristic of hummingbird moths from hummingbirds is that they sometimes land on a flower while feeding which is a good clue it isn’t a hummingbird. Hummingbird moths also allow you to approach closer than hummingbirds and they don’t zip away at lightning speed like hummingbirds either.

Hummingbird moths sometimes land on flowers to feed

However, hummingbird moths are strong fliers with rapid wing beats which creates a humming sound similar to hummingbirds.

If being mistaken for a hummingbird isn’t enough, the snowberry clearwing is also mistaken for a bumblebee because of the black and yellow bands on its body.  The hummingbird clearwing has an light brown thorax and a chestnut abdomen. The white-lined sphinx has a broad white stripe running diagonally across its wings and a pink coloration on its hind wings that is seen when flying. 

The white-lined sphinx moth has a distinguishing pink band on its hind wings

Like all moths and butterflies, the wings of hummingbird moths are covered with scales. However, the aptly named clearwing hummingbird moths have clear patches on their wings. The clearwing moths have fully-covered wings initially but they lose some of the scales in designated areas to create the clear patches.

While slightly smaller than hummingbirds with wingspans between two and four inches, hummingbird moths often elicit a double-take as they hover at a flower with antennae sticking out. 

Thank you Ashley Glaza for the photos!