Friday's Foto

There are some plants and animals that use mimicry to help them survive. Usually it is a non-lethal species imitating a known lethal one. In the moth world several species of the genus Hemaris that look and act like hummingbirds, bees or wasps. In addition, most moths species are nocturnal, but the Hummingbird Moths can be found feeding on nectar during daylight hours. I'm not certain how looking like a tiny, defenseless bird would help ones survival, but perhaps it is also the Snowberry Clearwing's similarity to a bumblebee that makes it seem less appetizing at mealtime. Like other species of clearwing, the snowberry lacks scales on most of their wings giving them their namesake clear windows. Hemaris diffinis is fairly common around Brooklyn as is the similar Hemaris thysbe.