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Photo#314122
Hummingbird Moth   Hemaris diffinis?   - Hemaris diffinis

Hummingbird Moth Hemaris diffinis? - Hemaris diffinis
Greenville, Rhode Island, USA
August 1, 2009
Size: ~ 1" - 1 ½"
Took photos of this one on my Butterfly Bushes during mid to late afternoon.

(I know that genus & species should be in italics and/or bold type. I haven't figured out how to do this online with my relatively new Mac OS X)

Images of this individual: tag all
Hummingbird Moth   Hemaris diffinis?   - Hemaris diffinis Hummingbird Moth   Hemaris diffinis?   - Hemaris diffinis

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

...
When you move it to species page in the guide, they will automatically be entered and put in italics for you. It is difficult to describe how to use html or BBcode (how you format things online) here because it won't show the code.

If you hit "Reply to this comment", look at the bottom of the typing window, it has a list of usable codes. The two with the i in them are for italics.


Here is a link that might explain it better: http://www.pageresource.com/html/textags.htm

There is also a section about how to do this here on bugguide:
http://bugguide.net/help/markup

.

 
Entering Italics Online
Thank you Dan for the explanation and options. I will pursue them. It's also good to know that when a species page gets moved to the Guide, BugGuide will automatically put it in italics.

 
So many things to learn
There is a lot to learn here at Bugguide; just a couple of other things. It is important to fill in the county information and the male/female and adult/immature (when you know that) in the corresponding fields. These things make your submissions more valuable. For instance, when you are using the Advanced search you can select all images of a particular group or males only or adults only; then only the images properly labeled will show in such searches. You can also create a Google map, however, once again if you don't include the county information in the proper field your image won't show up in the map.

 
So many things to learn
Thank you! I overlooked the county and will put it in now that you've pointed it out. The male/female and adult/immature can be tough for me as I'm relatively new to IDs for insects. But now, I will be keen to try and, if I don't know, would it be helpful for me to put "Don't know" or just leave it blank? I know with computer searches more information is better. I appreciate very much your comments. I've been a birdwatcher for many years and so much knowledge for an ID for a bird comes naturally to me. I know it will for insects too as my learning curve continues. BugGuide.Net is a really great community both for learning and having fun: as a very, very, very much Amateur, I feel very welcomed. Thanks again!

 
Sex, age information
In many (most?) cases we don't know the sex of the bug; but when an expert tells you that, it is a good idea to edit your submission and add it. In the meantime you may find this article helpful.
As for adult/immature, a rule of thumb is: if it has wings it is an adult. If it looks like a worm (caterpillar, grub, maggot) it is immature. This should take care of more than 70 % of all insects. Don't worry about the rest if you don't know. If an expert tells you that it is a "nymph", that means immature.
Enjoy yourself and don't fret over all this.

 
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If you don't know the sex or age of the insect, it is fine to just leave it blank. Just that if you do know it, it certainly will be helpful information for others. Most of us here are just like you, people who just like bugs and/or photographing them. I've only been at this for about a year and a half myself, no formal training in entomology, but I'm learning more everyday. You have some very nice photos, so happy hunting and keep on sharing and learning!

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