I've been busy this summer with documenting the butterflies of crex meadows. The more I learn the more I figure out I dont know much. I have made it up to the meadows once a week since may. Discoveries this year include Dusted Skipper, Harvester (previously mentioned) and more recently, the Slender Clearwing (one of the hummingbird moths). It has been submitted to Wisconsinbutterflies.org and is the first submission of this type of moth ever on that website. Quite a find for me!
Picture one is the best shot overall. The flower its feeding on is a puccon (likely hoary puccoon). The width of the flower is about the size of a nickel. Picture two is the real identifier of this particular species. It shows the red legs and the red band that runs along the body where the legs are.
Heres a link to USA sightings of this moth:
Species Detail | Butterflies and Moths of North America
Heres bugguides data on this moth:
Species Hemaris gracilis - Slender Clearwing - Hodges#7854 - BugGuide.Net
As the above links maps show, the Slender clearwing is a good find for anyone interested in the moths/butterflies.
I am also waiting for confirmation on a buckmoth I photographed last september. It is likely it is a newly defined subspecies of buckmoth that is still being researched and classed. Will update as info is obtained.
