Pollinator Week - Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

No Pollinator Week in my garden would be complete without one of the clearwing moths that are so abundant this time of year.  I was actually hoping to get the other species (Snowberry Clearwing) but there were none to be found today.  On the other hand, there were at least a dozen of these H. clearwings in the garden.  They were all working the bee balm patches today, which made the photograph a bit harder just because the flowers are so busy.  Plus, I really wanted to get a shot where the wing motion was stopped at full-span so you could see the large clear parts.  

When it comes to pollinators, it's hard to compete with moths.  There are, obviously, the diurnal species like this one that we see fluttering around flower patches; but the nocturnal moths are also great pollinators, even though we usually don't see them.

And speaking of things nocturnal ... I have a running war going on right now with what I believe are one or more raccoons.  Every morning for the last five days, I've come down to find pots overturned and dirt strewn about the patio and deck.  Add to that several hummingbird feeders empty and on the ground, along with some rather incriminating paw prints on the window where one of the feeders was hanging and it all adds up to raccoons.  Last night, I outsmarted them on the feeders by moving them to locations that were raccoon-proof resistant.  In an act of revenge, they turned over even more pots, including a bunch of my potted milkweed.  So, now I'm going to try sprinkling hot pepper flakes in the pots.  

Stay tuned for the answer to this compelling question - Who is smarter?  Debbi or the Raccoon/s?

It's hotter than blazes outside today so I'm planning to spend the rest of the day working on some photos.  

Thanks for stopping by...

xo
Debbi

Footnote:  I have just come in from sprinkling and entire jar of dried hot pepper flakes in all the pots that the raccoons have been digging in.  Let's see if that thwarts them...