What is this please?

[Socrates]

Yesterday I saw the strangest looking bug in my yard and ran for the camera right away.

I do apologize for the poor quality, unfortunately it was the only picture I was able to take before it "buzzed" away.

I have never ever seen anything like this in my yard before. It was about 2" long, with a fuzzy/furry looking behind, lots of fuzz on top and an extremely long trunk (??). I don't know what the part is called that bees use to get to the nectar, but this bug's thingy/trunk was about 1" long!

Can anybody tell me what this was? Are they "friendly" or "hostile"?

Thanks in advance.

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Wendy
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[Jesse607]

Its' common name is the "hummingbird moth" it is a member of the Sphingiidae family. It is harmless as an adult moth, and the catepillar stage is not a pest of any important plants.

 

[ghost_tomb]

wow where do you live?

looks like a cross between a bee and a huming bird.


probably a solitary bee of some sort i think???

edit:

/\ well i was half right

 

[Malkavian]

Looks like a hummingbird moth, Hemaris thysbe. Definitely "friendly"

 

[Socrates]

wow where do you live?

I'm in New Jersey...and LOL...it does look weird to me too.

Thanks to all who responded so super quickly. I'm sure relieved to hear that it's NOT a pets, even when larvae.

I'll be keeping my eyes out for more of them, as I find them fascinating to watch, and especially since I had never seen one before.

The name (English name) suits it quite well in my opinion.

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Wendy
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[ilovebugs]

we have those here (alabama) too. I think that same species and I may have seen another variation before...

 

[Wade]

In addition to the black and yellow form, there's a green and red form.

Wade

 

[cricket54]

Wendy, I am in S. Jersey and we have them here too of course. When we first moved here, my daughter came in all excited because she said she saw a hummingbird. When I went outside with her, this was what was there in my flowers. I searched through my insect books & we found out what it was. I think they are so neat. I had just moved from N. Carolina and never saw them there. I grew up in Balto. MD and never saw them there. Lived for a while in Groton, Ct and never saw them there. Seems that they have unusual things here near the Sand Hills of NJ. Thankyou for posting this picture and asking about this insect. They seem to behave just like real hummingbirds.

Sharon

 

[Jesse607]

They are very common in upstate NY.