Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFSphingidae Members: Hemaris Members: 157 NC Records

Hemaris diffinis (Boisduval, 1836) - Snowberry Clearwing

Hemaris diffinisHemaris diffinisHemaris diffinis
view caption 		Hemaris diffinis
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Bombycoidea		 Family:
Sphingidae		Subfamily:
Macroglossinae		Tribe:
Dilophonotini		P3 Number:
890204.5		 MONA Number:
7855.00
Comments: A Holarctic genus of 20 species of which 5 occur in North America and 4 in North Carolina. They are often called hummingbird or bumblebee moths, and are among the best known sphingids to North Carolinians.
Species Status: The barcodes for Hemaris diffinis indicate complexity out west but our populations seem to be a single species.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1948); Hodges (1971); Tuttle (2007)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1948); Wagner (2005); Tuttle (2007)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Adults have a yellowish thorax and probably are mimics of bumblebees or carpenter bees; they can also be recognized by the narrow black margin to the clear area on the hindwing -- in our other two species the black border is quite wide. The legs are black in Hemaris diffinis but white in H. thysbe and reddish in H. gracilis. Sexes are similar.
Wingspan: 3.5 - 5 cm (Covell, 1984)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larva are granulated like other Hemaris species, but lack the subdorsal line found in H. thysbe and H. gracilis. Spiracles are surrounded by dark circular patches; the horn is black with a yellow patch at the base (see Wagner, 2005, for additional details). Pupation occurs underground.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Records from the Mountains are few but the species is certainly common across the Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Hemaris diffinisAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
Piedmont (Pd)
Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.