Not a baby bird
text and photos : Norma A. Hubbard (August 2014)
My mother was so excited to tell me she had seen a baby hummingbird, and I will admit I was jealous; I had never seen one. It was only a few days later when I, too, spotted what seemed to be a baby hummingbird in my garden. I had to get closer. As I crept up to this ‘baby bird’ I was amazed that it didn’t fly away. Only when I was beside it, could I see it wasn’t a hummingbird; in fact, it wasn’t even a bird, but a bug! Regardless of what it was, I was fascinated by this hummingbird look-alike and took a few pictures. This insect turned out to be a Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe), or what is commonly referred to as a “hummingbird moth”.
It is truly amazing how much these tiny moths look like hummingbirds. They present similar colours from a distance, however up close it is possible to see that their flash of red is not on the neck, as it would be on a male hummingbird, but rather a reddish brown to burgundy trim on its wings. The body has greens and yellows, similar to the feathers of hummingbirds, and on a close inspection, the moths even appear to have feathers. They have a wingspan of 4 to 5.5 cm (about 1.5 to 2 inches) and while this is a bit small for a hummingbird, it is on the larger side for the average moth we usually don’t see during the day (a bit unclear). Its body, while more lobster-like than a hummingbird, still gives the silhouette of a hummingbird – thus, adding to the illusion!
However, it is more than just its appearance, it is also its actions that trick us into thinking it is a bird and not a bug. This moth hovers and darts between flowers, and incidentally, helps with pollination. With its head stuck into the flower, it drinks nectar through a tube, the proboscis, which is much like a hummingbird with its tongue. They are even found at plants that are preferred by hummingbirds, such as honeysuckle, beebalm, clover, butterfly bush, lilac, phlox, and vetch. Finally, it is the wings that really trick us, with similar wing movement and speed to that of the hummingbird, they even produce a humming sound; this moth does a very convincing mimicking act!
These charming moths can be found in many parts of Canada. In our area of Quebec, this insect produces two generations a year. The female moth lays eggs on a host plant in the spring. The eggs grow into caterpillars. The caterpillars, which I have never seen, are usually lime-green with red spots on the abdomen and a lavender or reddish tail horn. It matures by late summer then the caterpillar spins a cocoon on the soil and will emerge in the following spring as a moth, not a bird!
References: Butterflies and Moths of North America; Space for Life Montreal (Insectarium)