Carmine Media

At first we had no idea what this pupa was in our backyard. It turns out this is a pupa for the Hemaris Diffinis, or the bumblebee or Hummingbird moth. They hover just like a Hummingbird and will retrieve nectar from flowers. Sometimes people will mistake them for a Hummingbird and report early arrival, as broods often emerge in March. Our brood hatched in August. We’ve lived here for almost 20 years and have never seen these. Here’s the Wikipedia scoop if you’re interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemaris_diffinis