Red-tipped Clearwing Moth
Synanthedon formicaeformis
To perfect its wasp disguise, this moth actively mimics the jerky, searching flight patterns and wing vibrations of ichneumon wasps.
- Scientific name
- Synanthedon formicaeformis
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Sesiidae › Synanthedon
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Damp woodlands, fens, riverbanks, and osier beds rich in willow trees.
- Diet
- Larvae feed on the inner wood of willow trees (Salix spp.); adults feed on flower nectar.
- Range
- Europe, Siberia, British Isles
- Size
- Wingspan of 17 to 22 mm
- Lifespan
- 1 to 2 years (mostly spent as a boring larva; adults live for only a few weeks)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Loss of wetland habitats, clearing of old willow scrub, and river channelization.
- Safe to approach?
- This species is completely harmless. Though it mimics a stinging wasp to deter predators, it has no stinger or bite. You can safely observe it from any distance. If it lands on you, remain calm and let it fly away naturally; do not swat it, as it is very fragile.
Synanthedon formicaeformis , the red-tipped clearwing , is a moth of the Sesiidae family and can be found in all of Europe, the eastern Palearctic ecozone and the Near East. The larvae sometimes form pear-shaped galls on willows ( Salix spp). It was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1783.
Photo: Dieder Plu, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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