Sesiidae : Sesiinae
Red-tipped Clearwing
SYNANTHEDON formicaeformis (Esper,1782)
Red-tipped Clearwing
SYNANTHEDON formicaeformis (Esper,1782)
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 17 - 19mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - less some Mediterranean Islands : Asia Minor - Caucasus : Transcaucasus
UK Distribution: Found locally in southern and central England north to Northumberland but less frequent in South West. S.Wales - possibly overlooked. Southern Scotland - very scarce. Ireland - local and very scarce.
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Damp or marshy ground where larval food plant Willow grows - swamps,ponds,river banks,gravel pits etc
Similar Species -
Larva: The 20mm larva is yellowish white with the dorsal vessel,the main construction of the circulatory system,is grey shown clearer at the central segments.The head is dark brown.
With little or no sign of larval feeding it is very difficult to find although frass at the edge of tree stumps or broken stems may be found.
As in the stem entrance photo on the Orange-tailed Clearwing, the plant sometimes reacts to the intrusion by producing a gall swelling.
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: One of the most beautiful of Clearwings this moth is easily identified by the red wing tips and the single broad red band on the abdomen. The moth is considered to have a one year life cycle.
On the freshly emerged Clearwing below it can be seen to have yellow scales in front of the red band which fall of in early flights.
The anal black tuft have two yellowish white streaks.
As seen by the photos below this moth can be found by accident sitting on a leaf absorbing the sunshine although the normally accepted meathod of attracting this moth is by the use of artificial pheromone which is in this case can be a combination as described here MYO,TIP,TIP + VES,MYO + TIP + VES although FOR is considered the best lure to attract the species.Although I have little experience of the height to place the lure I would suggest the height of surrounding habitat would be a good guide. The moth below was resting at about 350mm above ground.
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - less some Mediterranean Islands : Asia Minor - Caucasus : Transcaucasus
UK Distribution: Found locally in southern and central England north to Northumberland but less frequent in South West. S.Wales - possibly overlooked. Southern Scotland - very scarce. Ireland - local and very scarce.
UK Conservation Status -
- Nationally Scarce B (Nb - BAP : 1997) = 31 - 100 10Km Squares
- Least Concern
- Sphinx oestriformis Rottemburg,1775
- Sphinx oestriformis Rottemburg,1775
- Germany - Frankfurt am Main
Habitat: Damp or marshy ground where larval food plant Willow grows - swamps,ponds,river banks,gravel pits etc
Similar Species -
- Red Belted Clearwing - Synanthedon myopaeformis - (Borkhausen, 1789)
- Large Red-belted Clearwing - Synanthedon culiciformis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Larva: The 20mm larva is yellowish white with the dorsal vessel,the main construction of the circulatory system,is grey shown clearer at the central segments.The head is dark brown.
With little or no sign of larval feeding it is very difficult to find although frass at the edge of tree stumps or broken stems may be found.
As in the stem entrance photo on the Orange-tailed Clearwing, the plant sometimes reacts to the intrusion by producing a gall swelling.
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: One of the most beautiful of Clearwings this moth is easily identified by the red wing tips and the single broad red band on the abdomen. The moth is considered to have a one year life cycle.
On the freshly emerged Clearwing below it can be seen to have yellow scales in front of the red band which fall of in early flights.
The anal black tuft have two yellowish white streaks.
As seen by the photos below this moth can be found by accident sitting on a leaf absorbing the sunshine although the normally accepted meathod of attracting this moth is by the use of artificial pheromone which is in this case can be a combination as described here MYO,TIP,TIP + VES,MYO + TIP + VES although FOR is considered the best lure to attract the species.Although I have little experience of the height to place the lure I would suggest the height of surrounding habitat would be a good guide. The moth below was resting at about 350mm above ground.
Photo Gallery
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website
where further information like photos,physical
characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal
uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
- Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Salicaceae - Willow Family
- Salix alba - White Willow
- Salix aurita - Eared Sallow
- Salix caprea - Goat Willow
- Salix cinerea - Grey Willow
- Salix daphnoides - Violet Willow
- Salix exigua - Coyote Willow : Narrowleaf Willow
- Salix phylicifolia -Tea-leaved Willow
- Salix purpurea - Purple Osier
- Salix repens - Creeping Willow
- Salix x rubra - No Common Name
- Salix triandra - Almond-leaved Willow
- Salix viminalis - Osier
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species SYNANTHEDON: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Cossoidea Sesiidae Sesiinae SYNANTHEDON Hübner, [1819] Synanthedon formicaeformis (Esper,1782) - Sphinx oestriformis Rottemburg,1775 - SPHINX oestriformis Rottemburg,1775 = Sphinx tentrediniformis Esper, 1782 = Sphinx flammeus Haworth, 1803 = Sphinx nomadaeformis Hübner, [1806] = Sesia formiciformis Staudinger, 1856 - Esper, E. J. C. 1794. Die Schmetterlinge in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen. Zweyter Theil. Europäische Gattungen. - pp. 1-234, Tab. I-XXXVI [= 1-36]. Erlangen. (Walther).V1 p.216 (2) pl.32 - f. 2 -3 - Germany - Frankfurt am Main |
