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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Moths » Bombycoidea » Sphinx Moths (Sphingidae) » Macroglossinae » Dilophonotini » Hemaris

Genus Hemaris

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Identification · Range · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Hummingbird Clearwing - Hemaris diffinis Hummingbird Moth - Hemaris thysbe Snowberry Clearwing - Hemaris diffinis Snowberry Clearwing - Hemaris diffinis Snowberry Clearwing - Hemaris diffinis - female Snowberry Clearwing - Hemaris diffinis Clear-wing Moth? - Hemaris Snowberry Clearwing - Hodges#7855 (Hemaris diffinis) - Hemaris diffinis
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
No Taxon (Moths)
Superfamily Bombycoidea
Family Sphingidae (Sphinx Moths)
Subfamily Macroglossinae
Tribe Dilophonotini
Genus Hemaris
Other Common Names
Clearwing Moths, Hummingbird Moths; Bee Hawk-Moths (UK)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Hemaris Dalman, 1816
Explanation of Names
There appear to be two possible origins for the name Hemaris:
1-From the Greek hemera, meaning a day (1), possibly referring to the day-flying habits (PDF factsheet on Hemaris tityus, a European species).
2-From the Greek root haem, meaning blood. North American species of Hemaris were originally placed in the genus Haemorrhagia Grote (2), clearly from the root haem. This suggests some sort of relationship, though the spelling, one would think, should have been something like haemaris!
Numbers
4 species in North America listed at All-Leps: diffinis, gracilis, senta, thysbe
About 17 species total--Holarctic (Wikipedia)
Identification
adults are easy to identify to genus level due to their habit of hovering around flowers like bumblebees; see individual species pages for identification to species level
Range
represented throughout North America, including the Arctic
Print References
Borror, entry for hemera (1)
Holland, The Moth Book, p. 62--description of Haemorrhagia Grote (2)
Internet References
Wikipedia--Hemaris
pinned adult images of all 4 North American species (CBIF)
US distribution maps and other info on diffinis, gracilis, senta, thysbe
distribution in Canada of all 4 species, listing provinces and territories (CBIF)
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
By Donald J. Borror
2.The Moth Book
By W.J. Holland
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 9 March, 2004 - 4:11pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Robin McLeod
Last updated 30 July, 2009 - 8:46pm

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