Hemaris thysbe

Thysbe Bee Hawk Moth

The caterpillar feeds on Snowberry. The photographs show the usual green variety and an unusual brown variety. The moths look so like bees that I have had people doubt my ability to distinguish a moth from a bee when I have pointed out a bee hawk moth and insisted that it was a moth. They fly during the hottest days of the summer, and hover before a flower while taking nectar with their long proboscis - unlike a bumble bee, which settles on the flower.