August 16, 2008

Snowberry Clearwing Sphinx Moth

SnowberryClearwingSphinxMoth_cr

We had a visitor in our garden today. A Snowberry Clearwing Sphinx moth stopped in to munch on our flowering bushes. The last thing you would expect in a Texas garden is a moth with "snow" in its name. Everyone thought it was a bee from the window inside during lunch. I wanted to identify it, so I dared my son to go out and be stung first and take a good look. At first, the little bugger flew away, but then his hunger for our Chaste Tree nectar became too much for him to bear.

SClearwingMoth

Soon he was back and humming around while we snapped a few photos. Once, he even let my son touch him.



We looked him up on the bug ID site and learned what type of moth he was. I hope he'll come back. He sure is a pretty little guy. Much friendlier than those black bees that used to feed on our cucumber vines all day. Speaking of which... the cucumber vines are history. Some strange bug got them. Almost everything in the garden is already dying now - except for the tomato plants that are putting out a ton of green fruits right now. I can't wait until they rippen!


Quick Links:
Nature as a Teaching Tool (all my nature links)
Garden Photos


Subscribe to Sprittibee by Email

Buzz Words: , , , , , , , , , , ,

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

He's beautiful. I never would have guessed him for a moth. You got some beautiful pictures, too. I'll have to nose around your blog and see if I can figure out what kind of camera you use...because, you know, the only reason I don't take better pictures is because of my camera. Yeah, that's it. ;-)

nwscrapmom said...

That is beautiful! I would've been freaking at first, because he looks pretty darned big to me... and I don't do bugs, especially not big bugs. Stumbled upon your blog today and just added you to my favorites. I look forward to reading more (I'm a homeschooling mom, too.)
:) Kit

Anonymous said...

Very cool, and congrats on your identification skills!

Sprittibee said...

Kris - :) I use a Canon 40D. Granted, it is a great camera... for a digital, but I think that the more you practice, the better you get - no matter what camera you use. :) We do some photo school stuff on Fridays over at the HSBA. Come join us for Foto Friday over there! I did a lesson not long ago about how to get better every-day shots.

www.homeschoolblogawards.com

nwscrapmom - I love bugs. :) Glad you stumbled in! Does that mean you found me through "STUMBLE" or you really did just find your way in? :) I love Stumble (the site) and am a member there.

Dawn - :) Yeah, we love to ID bugs. It is a family hobby! Well, at least for me and my son.

Sisterlisa said...

Great shots Heather! what a neat experience for your little ones. Did the question come up about why they think the moth looks like a bee? Would be a good question to have them journal or blog about.

Would love to learn from you how you go about identifying bugs and plants.

SUDHEER said...

"Your site is very informative n helpful .. thanks…..keep it up" .
IndiaSurfer is social news submiting site.submit your posts get more traffic to your site.vote for best stories.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous!

 

Disclosure

Some posts on this blog contain affiliate links or sponsored links. I receive a small commission whenever a product is purchased through an affiliate link. Sponsored links are paid for by a company who wishes to improve their Google ranking, but I always check to make sure these are reputable sites and never allow any links that are questionable to be placed.

The links in my "Sweet Linkage" section are either sponsored links or personal links that I find interesting (including the links to the blogs that both of my teen children run).

I occasionally run ads on my blog in exchange for money or traded advertising, or receive products in exchange for a review or giveaway posts. I also participate in campaigns by brands that offer to pay me to write about their products after using them. Any post that is sponsored will be noted as such. All opinions expressed on Sprittibee.com are my own, and any review, give-away, sponsored post, graphic ad, or product that I mention or link to are ones that I believe are reputable and worthy companies.

Stats

blog design:

blog archives