True Linda - they are not yellowthroats - only looked a bit like them. I saw one in Nova Scotia 2 years ago (attached) and was reminded of it.

I'm not sure what this is... and I just went and searched 2 bird identifier websites and still can't find it. My first thought was a Marsh Tit, but I don't think that's it

Thanks, Cindy--I should bookmark that site. It looks like a good one. My insect was a lighter brown, but the description I read said the adult male has tan wings, which would explain the lighter appearance. Otherwise, it looks like the one I saw. No wonder he creeped me out . . . it's that roach word! Usually I find insects more interesting than creepy. I was sure glad to read the habitat of this one is outdoors.

Blue and purple flower tones photograph less accurately than any other color IMO and sometimes the nurseries "enhance" a photo's color, and in my garden, light levels effect the color of blues, so photographing the same plant with the same camera at different times of day and sun conditions will give me quite different colors. So you want to look at leaf shape, blossom size and petal shape and gappiness/overlap, and the color and size/texture of the center boss of stamens. Sometimes petal count helps, though for many it's somewhat variable. Looking at the seed clusters may help. If you aren't familiar with Clematis on the Web, you can fill in what you know (in this case that it's group integrifolia) and try blue, purple and violet for color to see what possibilities arise. However, GG48 has given you a good list of possibilities that are/were readily available in the US. Another one is Miranda, a sister to Arabella that is darker and was available for a while but seems to be no longer. If you aren't in the US, perhaps someone from your country can chime in. CotW is an international listing and not all are available in the US and not all are available on the market, so it will give you a lot of excess in the list of possibilities. There are a few in the River series developed by Wim Snoeijer in the Netherlands, but I don't know if any have been available in the US for more than 3 or 4 years, and I doubt if one would find them at a big box store.