Bug FAQRocky Mountain Clearwing
Hemaris thetis · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Sphingidae
Also called: California Clearwing, Western Snowberry Clearwing
Hemaris thetis, the Rocky Mountain or California clearwing, is a hawk-moth that lives near streams and mountain meadows. Adults sip nectar from flowers such as bearberry and lupines, while the caterpillars eat Symphoricarpos plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Hemaris thetis is a clearwing moth in the family Sphingidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives beside streams and in meadow areas of mountains.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adult moths feed on nectar from various flowers, including bearberry and lupine species. The larvae feed on plants of the Symphoricarpos genus.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
There is probably one generation each year, with adults on the wing from May to August.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are active from May through August.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, California and extends north to British Columbia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When are Rocky Mountain clearwings active?
Adults are on the wing from May to August.
Source: Wikipedia
What flowers do the adults visit?
Adults sip nectar from flowers such as bearberry and lupines.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Sphingidae)
White-lined SphinxHyles lineataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Eurasian Hummingbird HawkmothMacroglossum stellatarum
Snowberry ClearwingHemaris diffinis
Carolina SphinxManduca sextaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Hummingbird ClearwingHemaris thysbeDamages trees, gardens or crops
Elephant HawkmothDeilephila elpenorSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemaris_thetis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.