Hummingbird Clearwing

With temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, we ignored our better judgment and visited the National Arboretum in D.C., in search of butterflies to photograph. At the Washington Youth Garden, the flowers were attracting many Eastern Tiger Swallowtails Papilio glaucus, but the most interesting bug was not a butterfly at all!  This Hummingbird Clearwing Hemaris thysbe, a sphingid moth, was feeding low to the ground, moving from flower to flower without alighting - just like a hummingbird! I struggled to get this flight shot, as I couldn’t focus the macro lens quickly enough for this moving target.

After following it between the flowers for a few minutes, I noticed that between feeding forays, the clearwing would retreat deep into the dark undergrowth and rest for a while on some thick plant stems, close to the ground. I was able to get this shot by getting down on my hands and knees and angling the flash appropriately.

I’ve occasionally seen the related Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum in Europe, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen a diurnal-flying sphingid like this in North America. Four species of Hemaris clearwing are found in North America. The best information I could find on distinguishing them is on this very informative site, the Butterflies and Moths of North America. Based on the information provided there, and considering the geographic ranges of the four species, this would appear to be Hemaris thysbe, the Hummingbird Clearwing.

Flickr Tags: Hemaris thysbe,Hummingbird Clearwing,Sphingidae,wildlife,photography,National Arboretum

A White-faced Ibis in Virginia

White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi is rare or accidental in the Mid-Atlantic states, so I was especially pleased to find this adult White-faced (above, right) amongst a small group of Glossy Ibis P. falcinellus at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia, on July 4, 2010. I must admit, I think this was the first time I’d seen these two species side by side, so I enjoyed the opportunity to study the subtly different field marks that distinguish them. White-faced and Glossy Ibis are very similar, but adults can be separated reliably by the color of the eyes and facial skin:

In this crop from the first image, note the red iris and pink facial skin of the White-faced Ibis. Glossy Ibis has dark brown eyes. The facial skin of Glossy Ibis is also dark, with whitish or powdery blue lines (see the bird on the left in the first image). Note also the generally brighter chestnut coloration of the White-faced, as well as the reddish legs.

White-faced also has more extensive white at the base of the bill, as can be seen in the above image.

Here is another image of the White-faced (center), with two Glossies, again illustrating the difference in eye and facial skin coloration.

In this image, the wings of the White-faced (front right) are noticeably bronzy green, not blue-green as in Glossy.

This shot of the White-faced in flight again nicely illustrates both the bronzy-green wings and the pink facial skin and red eyes. This bird, and the Glossies were foraging in one of the few remaining pools of water along the north side of Snow Goose Pool, right alongside the auto loop.

Ambush bug tries to take down a butterfly

I was trying to photograph this Least Skipper Ancyloxypha numitor the other day, when it was attacked by what I believe was a jagged ambush bug Phymata sp. The bug is visible in this photo, moments before it made its move:

See it, just below the butterfly’s head?  The bug, a nymphal stage I believe, was perfectly camouflaged to look like the flowers at which the butterfly was nectaring. I hadn’t noticed the bug in the frame when I took the photo above, which was taken moments before the bug attacked. Seconds later, the butterfly became frantic, as if it was trying to leave the flower but couldn’t. It wasn’t until I looked at the photos afterwards that I could see the bug had seized the butterfly by the proboscis!:

The struggle continued for a minute or so, the butterfly trying to fly away but unable to do so. There were occasional pauses in the tug-of-war, as the butterfly seemed to gather its strength for another attempt to break free:

Eventually, the butterfly did escape and appeared to be unharmed, as it returned to feed on another nearby flowerhead a few minutes later. Or maybe the ambush bug realized it had bitten off more than it could chew, with a butterfly five times its size?!

Flickr Tags: ambush bug,Least Skipper