The Bumblebee Moth (Snowberry Clearwing) and the Hummingbird Moth (Common Clearwing) are imposters.
You guessed it! One imitates a Bumblebee and the other a Hummingbird. Both have a very large proboscis (stop giggling!) which is coiled until ready to insert into a flower to extract the nectar within. Both moths hover around the flowers and are ready for a fast escape if needed.
It is surmised that the Bumblebee Moth mimics a real Bumblebee to intimidate possible predators who would otherwise have it for lunch but are wary of Bumblebees.
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| Note the translucent wings and Bumblebee-like markings. |
Proboscis unfurled.
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| The Hummingbird Moth has more coloration and emits a "humming" sound much
like a hummingbird. (I was not able to identify the intruder moth.)
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| You can clearly see the proboscis in action here. |
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| This moth obviously mimics "Vlad the Impaler, " aka Dracula. I have no idea what kind of moth it is---I post it only because it's very cool! |
Cool info and beautiful pics! I've seen the bumblebee moth and wondered what it was...now I know. By the way, it may be an optical illusion, but the white moth looks huge.
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