OH! Get OUT! I just Googled 'hummingbird moth' (after nearly an hour's worth of research in vain) to try to tell you that it looked like a cross between one of those (was looking for the proper name) and a bumblebee, and up popped a picture of the creature in question! Hang on, let me read about it . . . .
Okay, I was trying to remember the name of the Sphinx Moth (hummingbird moth). Check. But, here's their image of what I saw. It's a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth!
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Clearwing Hummingbird moth is a small moth that looks like a hummingbird. This hummingbird moth flies during the day. The wingspan is about up to 5 cm. The wings start out coloured reddish to brownish black, but after the first flight, the scales drop off and the wings become clear coloured. They are active from May to September. This moth has a proboscis for gathering nectar. Honeysuckle is a host plant for this moth. Info courtesy of www.ontariowildflower.com. |
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| Here's my guy. You'll have to zoom in on it to get a good look. Further research seems to point to it being a Snowberry Clearwing. COOL! I've never seen such a creature before! |
So, there you go, your biology / entomology / phenology lesson for today! ;)
I had a nice time at the BBQ last night as I knew I would. Good friends, good food, good times. :) Here are a couple o' pics:
(Quick interjection: GOOD GRIEF! I turned on the radio while waiting for the following pics to upload, and there Laura Erickson was talking about . . . Clearwing Hummingbird Moths! Hahahahaha!)
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| Here are Mrs. Tanglewoods Homestead with Bundle of Joy on her lap and My Girl, fresh from a full day of power sanding and priming. She's moonlighting with a painter this summer, and they're currently working on the exterior of our pharmacy. |
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| L-R: Mrs. Tanglewoods Homestead and three of her four kiddos (one very obviously hamming it up), My Girl, and a really bad picture of a really good looking guy! |
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| Most of the guys. The two in the forefront are hired hands for Bundle of Joy's daddy (in the cap). He owns his own construction business and needs extra help in the summertime . . . especially since he fell off a two-story roof last year (bouncing off the 1st story garage roof on the way down to the ground!) and really banged himself up! The other smiley guy (in blue) is Papa Pea's BFF. ;) |
As usual, wild critters came into the conversation. Apparently, by driving "the back way" to & from home, I'm missing a mama moose and twins that have been spotted pretty frequently on the main road. I heard heavy equipment down by the river a week or so ago which I think was repair work of the wash-out going on. I'll have to drive out one of these days to see if the winter driveway is open again. Bundle of Joy's daddy was about a mile from Swamp River Ridge a few days ago (in that same direction) and saw a BIG sow (black bear). Let's hope she stays down there and doesn't come up here to give me troubles! Papa Pea's BFF (hee hee, I get such a kick out of saying that!) and Bundle of Joy's family live right next to each other and, I guess, having been having regular visits from a bear. While it's great to see them, I sure don't miss the days of having to run out onto the porch in the middle of the night to scare a bear away from the shed storing the sunflower seeds!
And, speaking of seeing them (bears), I saw a cute cub on my way down to the get-together last night AND a yearling moose. Then, on the way home, a young bull dang near ran right into me! I mean, we're talkin' brakes-locked-tires-skidding! I'd already seen the 2nd moose of the night on the drive home and was cruisin' along a straight stretch (luckily) when this young bull came galloping out of the trees at my left, perpendicular to the car! I've had that happen once before, years ago. I had the passenger window open all the way because it was so hot that night, and he was SO close to me when he came out of the woods that I could hear his hooves in the grass alongside the car! But, no harm, no foul either time, and very cool!
And, with that, I'm off for my day. The clouds (and the radar!) threatened rain last night but we only got barely spit on as we sat around the fire. No rain. :( And, we need it. There's a forest fire burning in the BWCA that started on Monday, but, last I heard, it was burning towards a lake so, aside from some aerial water drops, they weren't fighting it (on the ground).
Have a great Monday! I mean . . . Thursday! ;)
Looked like a fun bbq!Being up north and all we would have called that late night fire excursion waiting for northern lights [ I have seen twice up north-so much more visible] Thanks for the up-date on bears -now I really am afraid one of the kiddo's will be carried off.we used to go to the local dump up at the lake to watch the bears. have not done that in a hundred years or so.I remember the mn. state bird [ mosquitoes] coming in hiding on your back or on your leg. wait till you go to bed and hear bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-everyone DIVE-under the blankets we go!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fantastic and relaxing time! Those hummingbird moths are everywhere in my garden, and are what scare the daylights out of me in their caterpillar stage LOL they are disgusting and the size of my thumb only longer, that's the tomato/tobacco hornworm!
ReplyDeleteI saw a nice sized bear last night on the way home, on top of Papa Pea's BFF's wife's (got that?) dumpster. Not huge, but plenty big and not afraid. I drove right up to the dumpster and he stayed there for a while. We were close enough to see that it was a "he" when he jumped off the dumpster. Very cool, but a bit scary that he's not more frightened of people.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I apologize big time for this, but after spending some time with you at your office it became apparent that "Forehead Long-legs" has pink eye. :/ I sure hope we haven't spread it to anyone else!
Judy, no, no, they won't be carried off by bears. Mosquitoes, maybe, but not bears! ;) I remember going to the dump to watch bears, too - VERY well! Mama Pea has some good stories to tell about up-close-and-personal visits Papa Pea had with 'em!
ReplyDeleteErin, let me get this straight: the tomato / tobacco hornworm is what turns INTO a hummingbird moth? If so, why the HECK don't they use the same name(s)?
Patty, yes, very cool that you all got to see the bear, but NOT COOL that he wasn't intimidated by you / the vehicle!
Oh, geez, Pink Eye?! Ohhh, how will you keep it from the rest of your kids (AND you & hubby)??? Since I've read what you wrote, my right eye has been itchy and sticky, but I'm HOPING it's PURELY psychosomatic! ;) However, given how I've been burning both ends of the candle lately . . . oi vey! Hey, at least it would give me a forced stay-cation at home! ;)