Moth Photographers Group – Hemaris aethra

Digital Guide to Moth Identification

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Sphingidae

890204.7 – 7855.2 Hemaris aethra (Strecker, 1875)

Photographs are the copyrighted property of each photographer listed. Contact individual photographers for permission to use for any purpose.

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Taxonomic: Notes	Hemaris aethra (Strecker, 1875) is raised to full species status from synonymy of Hemaris diffinis, in Schmidt (2018).
Synonymy:	aethra (Strecker, 1875) (Macroglossa) - MONA 1983: [NEW]
Host Plants:	Shropshire & Tallamy (2025) [accessed 6xii2025]: Host familiy: Diervillaceae. Host genera: Diervilla. Notes: leaves (Wagner 2005).
Similar : Species	Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Montagna, T., D. Montagna, S. Kloiber, A. Liang, 2026. Additional Insight on Hemaris aethra (Sphingidae: Macroglossinae). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 80(1): 13-18.
Schmidt, B., 2018. Cryptic species among bumblebee mimics: an unrecognized Hemaris hawkmoth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) in eastern North America. Zootaxa, 4399(1): 32-48.
Shropshire, K.J. & D.W. Tallamy, 2025. Lepidoptera of North America, north of Mexico: an annotated list containing geographic ranges and host-plant records. ZooKeys, 1261: 101-113; Suppl. 1. (PDF or read online)
Species Page at Bill Oehlke's moth website - Hemaris aethra
Species Page at BugGuide.Net
Species Page at Mass Moths
Species Page at iNaturalist

spring-brood - LG – © Chris Schmidt

summer-brood - LG – © Chris Schmidt

Moth Photographers Group at the Mississippi Entomological Museum at the Mississippi State University

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