Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) nectaring on flowers of wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) at the Cornell Botanic Gardens F. R. Newman Arboretum. The hummingbird clearwing moth understandably may be mistaken for a real hummingbird as it hovers with an audible humming sound at flowers to gather nectar using its long straw-like tongue called a proboscis. Hummingbird moths are large, day-active moths in the sphinx moth family (Sphingidae).