It's a Bee! It's a Butterfly! No, It's a.....?
@Ruby3881 (1963)
Canada
May 28, 2017 6:53pm CST
Have you ever seen a creature like the one pictured above? One of my friends posted a photo on Facebook of a similar insect today, and I think I've seen these insects around our house too.
It is not a bee or a wasp. And despite the almost dragonfly-like wings, it isn't that either. It's a bee mimic. The one in the photo is called a narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth, or Hemaris tityus. But I don't think we live in the right geographical region for it to be that.
Does anyone know of a similar insect that lives in the Pacific Northwest region of North America?
Image: Flickr user jeffreyw, CC BY 2.0
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment Tags Scientific name: Hemaris tityusA bumble-bee mimic. Flies by day from mid April in some seasons to July. Can be seen feeding at flowers, such as Bugle, louseworts and Marsh Thistle. Can be confused with the
11 people like this
11 responses
@1creekgirl (41774)
• United States
29 May 17
I haven't seen one of those, but years ago here in NC, we saw something that had the body of a bee and a long beak like a hummingbird.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
29 May 17
@1creekgirl It's not so ugly. Some of the pics on Wikipedia were kind of cut, actually 
1 person likes this
The pictured bug apparently exists in Europe. I saw mentions of it in Scotland, but not sure about the rest of the UK.
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
29 May 17
The ones we get really buzz around quickly. I'm not at all sure it's the same insect because they are just way too aggressive in their buzzing about for me to want to get close to them!
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
30 May 17
It looks like a bee, or could it be a "mutant" or a cross between a bee and a butterfly?
@alexjessi (1033)
• Hanoi, Vietnam
29 May 17
Idk what to say but it's interesting 
1 person likes this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
30 May 17
Thanks for sharing this. I have no idea what it is. I actually don't know what a wasp is too, I am not sure if we don't have them here, or I just don't know how to differentiate a bee and a wasp. We do have many bees around.
I am going to share this with my kids. I think they will be happy to know this.
@celticeagle (168420)
• Boise, Idaho
29 May 17
How odd. I remember when I was about ten and had gone out on the back porch at my grandmother's. I was always out with the animals. A hummingbird moth appeared. It seemed huge. I was scared.
I don't know of any other similar insects. Interesting.
@prashu228 (37521)
• India
29 May 17
I never saw anything like this ,half bee and half butterfly..hope you find it out
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
29 May 17
It's mom was a bee and father a butterfly...So it's a beeturfly
