Latin Name:  Hemaris diffinis (Boisduval, 1836)
                        (R. Bercha, det.)

Wingspan:  35 - 50 mm

Range: Throughout Alberta

Habitat:  Open areas such as meadows, roadsides and the edges of woodland.

Time of year seen: April to June

Caterpillar's Diet:  Snowberry and Honeysuckle

Other: The Snowberry Clearwing is a bee like moth that is active during the day and commonly seen nectaring at spring flowers such as lilac and dandelion. It's wings are translucent with thin dark margins and dark scale lined veins.  The forewing discal cell is not bisected by a  row of darker scales.  The base and  the apex of the forewing are ochre to brown with the head and thorax being tan-brown.  The basal half of the abdomen is typically black with bluish areas, while the posterior half is yellow and and the tip is black.  When viewed from the top the first three segments of the abdomen are usually black with the next two segments being yellow.  (Anweiler, G. G., http://www.entomology.ualberta.ca)