sphinx moth in Philadelphia?

[Doug Yanega]

>This thread reminds me of a lep mystery I had last year.  I saw a fat bodied
>creature with non-stop wings feeding on my butterfly bush.  It never landed.
>My first thought was hummingbird until I realized that this thing had
>antennae.  I decided that it was some sort of spreadwinged skipper.  I have
>no idea what color the wings were, but there was a bit of yellow in its
>irridescent "fur."  Is sphinx moth in Philadelphia? Is it diurnal?
>
>Christina
>
>Doug Yanega wrote:
>
>> A moth, similar to the ones shown under "Hummingbird Sphinx moth" at
>> http://insects.ucr.edu/entmus/bugfaq.html - but in the UK, obviously a
>> different species, probably genus.

Yes, in fact, there are three species of Hemaris in Pennsylvania, so give a
peek at the web page I list above.


Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
           http://insects.ucr.edu/staff/yanega.html
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82