The return of the flying crayfish

Back in 2008, I saw a strange, flying object. I wrote about it in a post titled What is that thing? I had to do a lot of searching to find out what it was. I thought it was a hummingbird at first. But its abdomen and tail looked like a crayfish! It couldn't be a moth or butterfly could it? The wings moved so fast and butterflies and moths always seemed to flap slowly and move in a jerky, haphazard path. This thing could hover like a hummingbird or a dragonfly.

I finally found out that it was a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. I put a couple of links to sites about these fascinating insects and I won't repeat them here. But here is another page that goes directly to information about the Hummingbird Clearwing. I hardly saw any of these moths over the next two summers, though. I was afraid that 2008 was just an anomaly and that they were going to remain a rare find on my walks.

Well, they're back! I see scores of them every time I go for a walk at lunch this year. They don't stay long at any one flower making them difficult to photograph. In fact, if there weren't so many of them, I probably wouldn't have any pictures to show. But since they are so plentiful, I manage to luck into a picture now and then. I'm showing my best pictures taken over the last week or so. I hope you enjoy them.

Better yet, I hope you get to see them in the wild. They really like the thistles in our area but I've seen them near a variety of flowers. So, if you think you see a hummingbird in an open field or if you think you see a crayfish hovering at a flower, take a second look. It may be a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth.

As always, just click on the pictures to see a larger version. And also, as always, you're welcome to use any of my pictures as you see fit. I don't copyright them.