It must be a hummingbird moth. They often visit garden flowers.

Thanks for the response, but that is not what it was. I will try and resize the photo and make the details clearer.
od

I call them "Hummingbird bees." I occasionally see them zipping around the flowers in the front yard.

Abby

I think Anney is right. Hummingbird moths, or hawk moths, are mistaken for hummingbirds all the time. It is so typical that the Peterson bird book shows them on the hummingbird page.

My grandaughter and I spotted one hovering and working around the fava bean flowers. Our first reaction was "hummingbird". But it was too small and the color was wrong. Then I remembered about hawk moths. That was it.

Jim

ok.. now the question is are Humming Moths harmful or beneficial or just neutral?

Here's a picture of the hummingbird moth on my catmint plant just a few days ago.
{{gwi:85291}}

They're beneficial as far as I know. They're most definetly pollenators; very inquistive as well.

Abby

OK, here is the photo resized. Now you can see it better. It is not a moth. IMHO
{{gwi:85292}}

Your bug looks like this.

{{gwi:85293}}

And if it's the same, it's the Snowberry clearwing which is a moth. AKA hummingbird clearwing, hummingbird moth....

I got that info from http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2001/06/10.htm

ole dog, this is so interesting. I also went out this morning and saw for the first time this little bug I first thought was a tiny hummingbird but then saw had insect feet. I came to the forum to ask the very same question. So thanks to all for the answers.

ole_dawg

There are many varieties of hummingbird moths. See the link at the bottom. Some are quite lovely. Their primary characteristic is an ability to hover, dart back and forth, and zoom to and from flowers, etc. That's why people think they're hummingbirds until they look closer.

The tomato hornworm becomes a hummingbird moth, and so do lots of other large caterpillars that munch where you don't want them to be.

My favorite pest caterpillar is the parsley-worm. It becomes a swallowtail butterfly.

But anyway, I'm pretty sure you had a hummingbird moth in your garden. They're quite different from night-moths.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hummingbird Moths

Well I guess if it looks like a hummingbird and flys like a hummingbird if must be A HUMMINGBIRD MOTH. I wonder if they have those in NJ?
It sure was strange looking and since it was doing the flower thing I guess it is a good guy.
Thanks everone
1eyedJack and the little Dawg

We have them in NJ. I call them flying lobsters.

I also noticed a strange bug on some flowers ... looked like a regular 'bumblebee' but was jet-black. Do they come that color also? Also for the first time a red-headed/breasted hummingbird looking in the window ('the feeder was empty!' it was trying to tell me!). I know little about the hummingbirds so only have had the metalic green breasted ones here before as a description.

- vieja

ole_dawg, I'd suspect what you were seeing might be a fly called a bumblebee mimic or something very close to that. I occasionally see them in my flower beds and they look very much like bumblebees until you notice that they're not really interested in the flowers and that they behave like flies. See if the insect in the photos at the top of this site look like what you saw.

Here is a link that might be useful: bumblebee mimic