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Species Hemaris gracilis - Slender Clearwing - Hodges#7854

hummingbird clearwing? - Hemaris gracilis

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Bombycoidea (Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths)

Family Sphingidae (Sphinx Moths)

Subfamily Macroglossinae

Tribe Dilophonotini

Genus Hemaris

Species gracilis (Slender Clearwing - Hodges#7854)

Hodges Number

7854

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

First described in 1865 by Augustus Radcliffe Grote and Coleman Townsend Robinson as Haemorrhagia gracilis

Explanation of Names

gracilis is Latin for "slender, slight"

Size

Wingspan 40-45 mm

Identification

Adults - forewing clear area has partial crossband of dark scales near base, and distal margin of clear area is even or smooth-edged (not ragged-edged); legs reddish (vs. pale/white in thysbe and black in diffinis)

Larvae - mostly green with a short dark horn (1)

Range

Eastern North America: North Dakota and Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia, south along coast to central Florida. Apparently uncommon and local.

Habitat

acidic soils, most often pine woodland, including pitch and jack pine barrens, with an ericaceous understory. Also bogs and open heathlands and acidic oak and oak-pine forests in some locals (1)

Season

Adults fly from May (March in south) to August; likely two broods.

Food

Larvae feed on heaths, including Blue Ridge Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum [=vacillans]), and laurel (Kalmia).

Adults take nectar, mostly in the afternoon of warm (above 21C) days (1)

Life Cycle

One or two generations per year. Eggs are laid singly on host plant leaves and hatch in about 6 days. Larva mature in a month and spin a cocoon on the soil surface where they usually reamin dormant until the following spring. Some pupae may diapause over two winters (1)

Remarks

diurnal, does not come to lights. Only found in small numbers even in the proper habitat (1)

See Also

Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) forewing clear area distal margin is uneven or ragged-edged (not smooth-edged), and legs are pale/whitish

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) forewing clear area lacks partial crossband of dark scales near base, and legs are black

Print References

Covell, p. 40, plate 6 #17 (2)

Internet References

pinned adult image by Paul Opler, plus US distribution map and species account (butterfliesandmoths.org)

pinned adult image (CBIF)

Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, v.5, p.174 Grote's and Robinson's original description of the species.

Sphingidae.US - Hemaris gracilis

Moths of North Carolina

Works Cited

1.	Rare, Declining, and Poorly Known Butterflies and Moths of Forests and Woodlands in the Eastern United States Dale F. Schweitzer, Marc C. Minno, David L. Wagner. 2011. U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, FHTET-2011-01. .

2.	Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005.

Contributed by Cotinis on 26 February, 2005 - 7:42am
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, urtica, Robin McLeod, anitagould, Chuck Entz, Jason D. Roberts, marcie oconnor, Randy Hardy, teakh
Last updated 17 March, 2021 - 3:04pm

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