Harmless. It has no sting and it cannot bite. The long tube it feeds through is a drinking straw, not a weapon, and it has no interest in you at all — it is at the flowers.
SizeWingspan 40–55 mm
MarkingsHovers at flowers in full daylight, wings a blur, feeding through a long extended tube · Clear panels in the wings, with a ragged rather than smooth outer edge to the clear area
WhereOpen ground with shrubs and young trees, and gardens — anywhere with deep-throated flowers worth hovering at.
SeasonApril to August in the north; March–June and again August–October further south
How to tell it apart
Hovers at flowers in full daylight, wings a blur, feeding through a long extended tube
Clear panels in the wings, with a ragged rather than smooth outer edge to the clear area
Olive-green body with a rust-red band across the abdomen
Pale, whitish legs — black legs mean the snowberry clearwing instead
Thick furry body with a flared tail tuft that opens and closes like a bird's tail
Where you’ll find it
Alaska down through central and eastern North America. It is a common garden moth across most of that, not a rarity, which is why so many people meet one and assume they have seen a tiny hummingbird.
Open ground with shrubs and young trees, and gardens — anywhere with deep-throated flowers worth hovering at.
April to August in the north; March–June and again August–October further south.
How it behaves
This is the moth that gets reported as a baby hummingbird. It flies by day, hovers rather than lands, holds station in front of a flower while it drinks, and darts sideways to the next one. The wings beat fast enough to hum. Everything about the impression is accurate except the size — it is roughly the length of the top joint of your thumb, far smaller than any real hummingbird.
You’ve found one indoors
Nothing, other than enjoy it. If you want more of them, the adults feed at deep flowers — bee balm, phlox, honeysuckle — and the caterpillars need hawthorn, honeysuckle, snowberry or viburnum to grow up on. A garden with both keeps them coming back.
Common questions
Is it a bird or a moth?
A moth. Hummingbirds have feathers and a beak; this has scales, antennae and six legs. If it is hovering at a flower and you can see clear windows in the wings, it is a moth.
Do hummingbird moths sting?
No. They have no sting and no biting mouthparts — only a coiled feeding tube. They are safe to stand next to and safe to photograph from a few inches away.
Is there only one hummingbird moth?
No, and this is where the name gets slippery. In North America it usually means this species, the hummingbird clearwing. The snowberry clearwing gets called it too, and so does the white-lined sphinx, which is bigger and flies at dusk. The European hummingbird hawk-moth is a different animal again and does not occur here.
How do I tell it from a snowberry clearwing?
Look at the legs. This species has pale, whitish legs and a mostly white underside at the front. The snowberry clearwing has black legs and a black underside, and reads as more black-and-yellow overall.
Why does it look like its wings are see-through?
They are. It emerges with fully scaled wings and loses the scales from the central panels on its first flight, which leaves clear windows edged in dark brown for the rest of its life.
Bernie Paquette · CC-BY