This might be a better pic

That's my guess too--but from the side it's easier to tell, I think they are all gray however. I can see the black and yellow are bee like but that's about the only thing that looks BEE to me. I was guessing it was going to be a wasp, but it is not......

Yes, a hummingbird moth: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/hummingbird_moth.shtml

Chiming in, hummingbird moth.

THANK YOU ALL!

I was going to say that it's the Snowberry Clearwing moth that is most often mistaken for bees or hummingbirds. Lucky you. They are often seen in the late afternoon or early evening.

It has many names, apparently. I've heard them called Hawk Moths.

I see more of this hummingbird moth with this coloring. In the past I used to see them with actual colors of a hummingbird, bright green body, maroon tail section ending in black, with a grayish color under belly. Haven't seen those for a long time.

Oh, if I had read the link that Bookwoman posted I would have seen a photo of the "clear wing (Hemaris thysbe)". Thank you!

Hummingbird moths are one of my favorite critters. They love my butterfly bush and for some reason watching them flit around gives me great joy. ☺

Bee-watching is calming and humbling, as I've discovered since DGS put two hives in our back yard. In a world of disorder, it's a comfort to see what the human mind interprets as Purpose. OTOH, those little gals work themselves to death! The Purpose is not theirs to choose.

I agree it's a Hummingbird Moth, and I think rhizo may be right about the exact species.

Never heard of those before, love the flowers it’s sitting on though, very pretty

That's a tall phlox. My phlox garden is a summertime delight for me and the critters.

Do you grow tomatoes? This moth is the source of your tomato horn worms.

Interesting! I had an introduction to a new to me insect this week, too.

I found this insect clinging to the inside of the storm door the other day and previously I had found one other that I had caught and put outside.

But, this time I had time to ponder just what this thing is. I assumed it was some sort of wasp and didnt want to mess with it too much.

I managed to get it outside and took a photo of it on the deck. I seemed to be slow and maybe something was wrong with it. As I put my hand towards it, it raised what looked to be a stinger in a defensive response. I just swished it off the deck so that no one would step on it and went to ask mr google. I did not kill it, by .the way.

It turns out that what I thought was a stinger appears to be tube to lay eggs with. I dont know whe the insect raised this appendage in response to my approach.

Turns out that they are not stingers and the insect is called a Pigeon Termex. What an odd name! It sounds like a name for some Mexican oil company, or some such. It is a type of non stinging wasp, called a horntail.

It certainly looks like something that you want to leave alone. I have a troubled maple tree right here and I suspect that this tree is attracting them. I have found two, but they were both inside for some reason.

Intimidating for sure, but, apparently not so.

I try to relocate these kinds of life to the outside and prefer not to kill them if they dont pose a threat. I have noticed that the spiders seem to be making webs in places that I know that have not been neglected and have been recently moved or cleaned. So I know that these are new.

This is the time of year when the wolf spiders try to come in. I read that they dont make webs but they use what other spiders build. They can get big and thick and look pretty scary.

.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremex_columba

Saw one at my house yesterday...

This hummingbird moth was at my petunias the other day. Interesting to observe, but their body segments end so weirdly! Maybe this one was particularly old and had lost most of the "fur" on its back and its "tail" fan. ??

M

Snowberry clearwing larvae do not feed on tomatoes. There are some species of clearwing/hawk/hummingbird/sphinx moths that do, but this isn't one of them (if it is in fact a snowberry clearwing). Anyways, they are beautiful and always fun to watch. Enjoy them!