''Hemaris'' is a genus of

sphinx moths The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, ...

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 con ...

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 The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by thei ...

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 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 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 ...

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 taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

s in shape. They are often mistaken for

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are ...

s. The forewings are fully scaled, but in some species patches of scales are lost during the first flight, leaving a glassy

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

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 sphinx moths in the subfamily Macroglossinae, which is native to the Holarctic.Kitching, I. J. and J. Cadiou (2000). ''Hawkmoths of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Revisionary Checklist (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae ...

'' (Strecker, 1875) – Diervilla clearwing7855.2 – Hemaris aethra – (Strecker, 1875)
North America, Moth Photographers Group * ''

Hemaris affinis ''Hemaris affinis'', the honeysuckle bee hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Mongolia, the Russian Far East, northern, central and eastern China, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea and Japan. The wingspan is 43–54&nbs ...

'' Bremer, 1861 – honeysuckle bee hawkmoth * ''

Hemaris aksana ''Hemaris aksana'', the Atlas bee hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Ferdinand Le Cerf in 1923. It is known from the Middle and High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The habitat consists of flower-rich mea ...

'' (Le Cerf, 1923) – Atlas bee hawkmoth * ''

Hemaris alaiana ''Hemaris alaiana'', the Alai bee hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan in 1903. It is known from the Alayskiy Khrebet, Tian Shan, Dzungarian Alatau, Saur and Altai mo ...

'' (

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 Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société entomo ...

, 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 ...

'' (

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 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologi ...

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

, 1855 – Rocky Mountain clearwing or California clearwing * ''

Hemaris thysbe ''Hemaris thysbe'', the hummingbird clearwing, is a moth of the family Sphingidae (hawkmoths). Coloration varies between individuals, but typically the moth is olive green and burgundy on its back, and white or yellow and burgundy on the undersi ...

'' ( 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 ...

'' (

) – narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth * '' Hemaris venata'' (

Felder Felder is a surname, and may refer to: Persons * Amanda Felder, American professional triathlete * Andreas Felder (b. 1962), Austrian championship ski jumper * Cajetan Freiherr von Felder (1814–1894), Austrian entomologist, jurist, and politicia ...

, 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 gracilis'' 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 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