NWB storefront closed until further notice

I have decided to close the NorthwestButterflies.com online store for the foreseeable future. It is becoming increasingly difficult and time-consuming to jump through all the hoops of managing the website and payment processing on top of my "regular life", especially when I only currently have one book to offer. I am retaining the domain name in case I decide to start up an online store again once I've had time to produce additional books. In the meantime, I still have plenty of Pocket Guides and bookmarks in stock that I will offer for sale at the occasional in-person meeting, or email me for purchase requests.

I apologize for the inconvenience, and very much appreciate the support over the last few years!

To be clear, this blog (northwestbutterflies.blogspot.com) isn't going anywhere, it's stress-free and doesn't cost anything. Please check back here for any updates.

Who knows, maybe I'll even get around to posting on here more often :)

Snowberry Clearwing...or is it?

Few people know that the clear-winged little bumblebee sphinx moths (genus Hemaris) have dark scales covering their wings when they first emerge from the pupa. Even fewer people have ever had the chance to see this! Once the moth takes flight, they quickly shed all those loose scales. I have only seen this once, when I acquired two pupae and saw the newly-emerged adults, but I wasn't able to capture good photos of them. Yesterday, on a cool and cloudy day out at the Bald Hills southeast of Olympia (part of a multi-agency tour), I didn't expect to see any Lepidoptera. Looking down on a clump of plantain, I noticed a large black antenna and leg, which at first I thought might be a some kind of beetle. Upon closer examination I was thrilled to find this freshly emerged Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis). I couldn't find the pupal shell, it was probably well hidden under the thick moss. Larvae of this species, as the name implies, feed on snowberry bushes.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) freshly emerged.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) freshly emerged.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) freshly emerged.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) freshly emerged.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) specimen showing the clear wings.

Bald Hills habitat with a patch of snowberry in the foreground.