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Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012) | Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD | Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1948); Hodges (1971); Tuttle (2007) | Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1948); Wagner (2005); Tuttle (2007) | |
| Adult Markings: These moths are often believed to be birds or large bees by the public; their ability to hover and rapidly fly away are impressive. Hemaris thysbe has a greenish thorax and is marked with crimson on its wings and abdomen; fore legs are white. Sexes are similar. Resembles H. gracilis but is larger and the clear area in both wings has a scalloped rather than even outer edge; in mounted specimens, the cell in the forewing has a line of scales running through it which is absent in H. gracilis. Hemaris diffinis has a yellowish thorax and the area devoid of scales is much larger in the hindwing than in either H. thysbe or H. gracilis. Leg color also differs between all three species: forelegs are white in H. thysbe, red in H. gracilis, and black in H. diffinis. |
| Wingspan: 4 - 5.5 cm (Covell, 1984) |
| Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens. |
| Immatures and Development: Larvae are green and granulated, with a pair of light dorsal lines and a pale, yellowish subdorsal line (Forbes, 1948; see Wagner, 2005, for an illustration). Pupation occurs underground. |
| Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants. |