''Hemaris'' is a genus of sphinx moths in the subfamily Macroglossinae, which is native to the

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

.Kitching, I. J. and J. Cadiou (2000). ''Hawkmoths of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Revisionary Checklist (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae).'' Cornell University Press, New York. Their main host plants are herbs and shrubs of the

teasel ''Dipsacus'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. The members of this genus are known as teasel, teazel or teazle. The genus includes about 15 species of tall herbaceous biennial plants (rarely short-lived perennial plants ...

and

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both conti ...

families. Moths in genus ''Hemaris'' are known collectively as clearwing moths or hummingbird moths in the US and Canada and bee hawk-moths in Britain. The related Old World

hummingbird hawk-moth The hummingbird hawk-moth (''Macroglossum stellatarum'') is a species of hawk moth found across temperate regions of Eurasia. The species is named for its similarity to hummingbirds, as they feed on the nectar of tube-shaped flowers using thei ...

s, genus ''

Macroglossum ''Macroglossum'' is a genus of moths in the family Sphingidae. The genus was erected by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1777. Species *'' Macroglossum adustum'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1916 *'' Macroglossum aesalon'' Mabille, 1879 *'' Macroglossum af ...

'', are similar in appearance and habits. Both genera have tails that are provided with an expansile truncated tuft of hairs, but only ''Hemaris'' has the disc of the wings transparent, as these scales are dropped soon after

eclosion A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

Description

The eggs are small, spherical, and pale glossy green in color. Host plants include shrub and vining honeysuckles and teasels. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e are small, cylindrical, and covered in granules that often have small bristles. Most larvae are green, brown, and gray, but there are many color forms. All have a distinctive pale dorsolateral longitudinal stripe from head to horn. The

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

is enclosed in a loosely spun cocoon, and is glossy in most species. There is a prominent

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

or hook alongside each eye. The cremaster of the chrysalis is large and flattened. The

imago In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the imaginal stage, the stage in which the insect attains maturity. It follows the f ...

es, or adults, are small, diurnal moths that resemble

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera ...

s in shape. They are often mistaken for hummingbirds. The forewings are fully scaled, but in some species patches of scales are lost during the first flight, leaving a glassy hyaline area on each wing. The antennae are strongly clubbed in both sexes and each has a small, recurved hook at the end. The

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...

ends in a large fan of

seta In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for " bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

e. The

genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

of the male are asymmetrical; the

uncus The uncus is an anterior extremity of the parahippocampal gyrus. It is separated from the apex of the temporal lobe by a slight fissure called the incisura temporalis (also called rhinal sulcus). Although superficially continuous with the hippo ...

is divided into two subequal lobes and is sclerotized. The ostium bursae, or genital opening, of the female is angled to the left. Hemaris-Hummingbird-Moth

Species

There are 23 accepted species. Four species are native to North and South America, and three to Europe.Fauna Europae
''Hemaris'' Dalman 1816
/ref> * ''

Hemaris aethra ''Hemaris'' is a genus of Sphingidae, sphinx moths in the subfamily Macroglossinae (moth), Macroglossinae, which is native to the Holarctic.Kitching, I. J. and J. Cadiou (2000). ''Hawkmoths of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Revisionary C ...

'' (Strecker, 1875) – Diervilla clearwing7855.2 – Hemaris aethra – (Strecker, 1875)
North America, Moth Photographers Group * '' Hemaris affinis'' Bremer, 1861 – honeysuckle bee hawkmoth * '' Hemaris aksana'' (Le Cerf, 1923) – Atlas bee hawkmoth * '' Hemaris alaiana'' (

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, 1903) – Alai bee hawkmoth * '' Hemaris beresowskii'' Alpheraky, 1897 * '' Hemaris croatica'' (Esper, 1800) – olive bee hawkmoth * '' Hemaris dentata'' (Staudinger, 1887) – Anatolian bee hawkmoth * ''

Hemaris diffinis ''Hemaris diffinis'', the snowberry clearwing, is a moth of the order Lepidoptera, family Sphingidae. This moth is sometimes called "hummingbird moth" or "flying lobster". This moth should not be confused with the hummingbird hawk-moth of Eur ...

'' ( Boisduval, 1836) – snowberry clearwing * '' Hemaris ducalis'' (Staudinger, 1887) – Pamir bee hawkmoth * ''

Hemaris fuciformis ''Hemaris fuciformis'', known as the broad-bordered bee hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. Distribution It is found in North Africa, Europe (except northern Scandinavia) and central and eastern Asia. Description The wingspan is ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758) – broad-bordered bee hawk-moth * '' Hemaris galunae'' Eitschberger, Müller & Kravchenko, 2005 – Levant bee hawkmoth * ''

Hemaris gracilis ''Hemaris gracilis'', the slender clearwing or graceful clearwing, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote and Coleman Townsend Robinson in 1865. Distribution It is found in North Americ ...

'' (Grote & Robinson, 1865) – slender clearwing or graceful clearwing * '' Hemaris molli'' Eitschberger, Müller & Kravchenko, 2005 * '' Hemaris ottonis'' (

, 1903) * '' Hemaris radians'' (

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People * Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California ...

, 1856) * '' Hemaris rubra'' Hampson,

893 __FORCETOC__ Year 893 ( DCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Vladimir, ruler (''khan'') of the Bulgarian Empire, is dethroned by his fat ...

/small> – Kashmir bee hawkmoth * '' Hemaris saldaitisi'' Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt, 1998 * '' Hemaris saundersii'' (

, 1856) – Saunders' bee hawkmoth * '' Hemaris staudingeri'' Leech, 1890 * '' Hemaris syra'' (Daniel, 1939) – Syrian bee hawkmoth * '' Hemaris thetis'' Boisduval, 1855 – Rocky Mountain clearwing or California clearwing * '' Hemaris thysbe'' ( Fabricius, 1775) – hummingbird clearwing * ''

Hemaris tityus ''Hemaris tityus'', the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae which is native to the Palearctic. Range It has a wide range, from Ireland across temperate Europe to the Ural Mountains, western Siberia, Novosibirsk and ...

'' (

, 1758) – narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth * '' Hemaris venata'' ( Felder, 1861) Hemaris diffinis MHNT CUT 2010 0 393, Morgan territory, Contra Costa Co, California, male.jpg, ''

'' Hemaris fuciformis MHNT.jpg, ''

'' Hemaris gracilis antennae - MHNT CUT 2010 0 509 - Chester Maine USA - male.jpg, ''

'' Hemaris saundersii - MHNT CUT 2010 0 509 - Simla Indes - male.jpg, '' Hemaris saundersii'' Hemaris thetis MHNT CUT 2010 0 393 Fraser (Colorado), male.jpg, '' Hemaris thetis'' Hemaris thysbe - MHNT CUT 2010 0 509 - Enfield Maine USA - male.jpg, '' Hemaris thysbe'' Hemaris tityus - MHNT CUT 2010 0 510 - Strasbourg France - male.jpg, ''

Gallery

File:Hemaris diffinis - Flickr - Andrea Westmoreland.jpg, File:Hemaris thysbe1.jpg, File:Hemaris fuciformis - Larva 07 (HS).JPG, File:H tityus M Kutera Kielce Upland.jpg,

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q134919 Taxa named by Johan Wilhelm Dalman Moth genera