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. |
