Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#1849696
Mystery Hawk Moth - Eichlinia cucurbitae

Mystery Hawk Moth - Eichlinia cucurbitae
East Suburbs, Onondaga County, New York, USA
July 6, 2020
Size: 1.5" approximately
I saw this creature feeding at my milkweed several times over the course of the late afternoon yesterday. I haven't been able to figure out what sort of hawk moth it is (or whether it is another insect entirely), despite its unique red and black hairy appendages. They are constantly in motion while it hovers at the flower, with the bottom tip repeatedly curving toward the plant and then straightening again at a relatively quick pace (a few times per second).

Images of this individual: tag all
Mystery Hawk Moth - Eichlinia cucurbitae Mystery Hawk Moth - Eichlinia cucurbitae

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Melittia cucurbitae
Melittia cucurbitae. Another one was just posted a few minutes ago from New York.

 
Awesome -- thank you!
Awesome -- thank you!

Looks more like a sesiid (cle
Looks more like a sesiid (clearwing) moth, family Sesiidae? Doesn't resemble any hawkmoth I know.

 
yes!
Oh, indeed -- I am new to this and I think I misunderstood that clearwings were not a subset of hawk moths.

 
It's confusing because there
It's confusing because there is one genus of clearwing hawkmoths - Hemaris - which are true hawkmoths but have clear wings! The Sesiidae are of course also called clearwings, just to be confusing, but are a different family.

 
Ah ha -- at least I wasn't th
Ah ha -- at least I wasn't thoroughly out of range with my confusion. :)

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.