Name calling This particular species appears to be Hemaris thetis. Historically it went by the names H. senta and H. diffinis. It has had the common names of Rocky Mountain Clearwing, Snowberry Clearwing, and California Clearwing. As a group (genus), such moths are called either Clearwing Moths or Hummingbird Moths.
One of the oddest sights to be found in one’s yard is that of a hummingbird moth. It looks like a baby hummingbird as it extracts nectar while hovering next to a flower. But, it is a moth, is active during the day, and has clear wings.
Last year, I saw it on dandelions. This May, I saw it on three occasions, but each time it was gone in an instant.
Two days ago, the moth appeared as a blurry apparition flying past the mating butterflies that were occupying my attention. This is a good picture of neither moth nor butterflies, but it set the stage to do better with each.
I located the moth again as it was sipping nectar on some other lilacs. It was soon gone, but I had its picture.
A second view.
Hi, Alistair. What a fuzzball! The moth looks like it has too much of a body to be held up by those little wings. Pretty amazing!
Splendid shots of the moth, Alistair. I observed a similar moth – likely the same species – on the lilacs at my parent’s farm in PG three days ago. It’s always a delight to see them.