is it hummingbird, is it a bug, it's I don't know

17 years ago

I saw the strangest little creature today, can someone help me identify it. I would of taken a picture but it flew away. It was drinking nectar from some flowers in one of my flower gardens. It was about an inch or inch and a half long, shaped oblong, with the head/or first third of it green, then the center was beige, and the last third reminded me of a bumble bee with stripes around it. It had long black antennas, plus a shorter sort of lighter antenna. I'm not sure if it had legs, it had some sort of irredencent things on it's side, , but I might of imagined that, it was moving from flower to flower,but I got right up to it, almost nose to nose and it seemed quite unconcened about me. I at first thought it was a new to Minnesota or baby hummingbird, but after looking at it awhile I don't have a clue.

Michele >^,,^

Comments (8)

luvmydaisies
17 years ago
Sphinx moth??
luvmydaisies
17 years ago

Here is a picture of the bug I seen in my garden. Is it the same as yours?? I did some searching and I think it is a Hummingbird clearwing moth...not a sphinx like I thought at first...I thought maybe it was a baby sphinx. I was wrong!!
Atica
Nettie
17 years ago
Now Michelle, if you are going to have bugs in the middle of your name we are going to expect you to be the forum expert on bugs so get hoppin!
michele13bugs
Original Author
17 years ago
I wish I knew alot more about bugs, so I could figure out what this one is. I'm going to go out daily and try to get a picture of this little bugger, pun intended. I use bugs in my name because that was my nickname when I was little,and weirdly enough that's the nickname my son picked up in college.

Anyway, the picture luvmydaisies sent was sorta kind of similar, but not the same. This one I saw was much lighter in color, the stripes were at the back end, and it was three tones, from green to beige to the back stripped area. It moved so fast and darted in and out of the flowers so quickly, but virtually stopped still when drinking the nectar, except for the wing movement. It was quite beautiful, and in the sunshine had a irredecent quality in some areas of it's body. Maybe it is some kind of a moth. Does someone have a good insect/bug/website you could direct me to. I love a good mystery.

Michele>^,,^
luvmydaisies
17 years ago
I like to go to What's that bug....

Here is a link that might be useful: What's that bug
michele13bugs
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks so much for the website "What's that bug "luvmydaisies. I went there and am pretty sure what I saw was a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. Alot of other people had written and sent pictures of their sightings of these beautiful little creatures, and although they do seem to vary somewhat in appearance, they look like what I saw. I wonder if they vary in appearance by where you live, maybe little differences or subtle changes according to where they live. I love that sight and put it in my favorites, what better way to identify something than by pictures taken by people who love nature, like we all do here. I was wondering if anyone else around here in Minnesota has spotted one of these Hummingbird Clearwing Moths lately.

Michele>^,,^
luvmydaisies
17 years ago
Michele
I sent the photo of mine to an entomolgist at the U of M and he identified it as a Nessus Spinx ( Amphion floridensis clark)
linda_in_mn
17 years ago
We saw one of these in our garden tonight too! Thought it was a hummingbird at first but as we got a closer look my DH noticed the feeding tube instead of a beak. We had fun following it all over our yard as it was enjoying our different types of honeysuckles, etc.