Sesiidae : Sesiinae
Thrift Clearwing
PYROPTERON muscaeformis (Esper, 1783)
Thrift Clearwing
PYROPTERON muscaeformis (Esper, 1783)
♀
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 15-18mm
Worldwide Distribution: England : Ireland : Denmark : Central Europe : Bulgaria : Balkans : Greece : S.Russia : Caucasus
UK Distribution: Species usually recorded on the western coasts of of Devon and Cornwall and Scily Isles,Anglesey,Cumbria,Isle of Man and Ireland : Scotland - Kirkcudbrightshire,MorayForth,Aberdeenshire and Angus : Ireland - found on southern coasts and in Northern Ireland discovered at Co Antrim (MGBI)
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Rocky coastlines and cliffs
Similar Species -
Larva: The larva is yellowish-white with the brownish dorsal vessel visible.The head is reddish-brown.The life cycle for this species is one year. The larva normally feeds on Thrift located in rock crevices.
Overwinters as: Part grown larva
Observations: This coastal species is the smallest of the Clearwings. The moth has three or four thin white "belts" located along the abdomen but lacks the orange scales that are found on the Six-belted Clearwing.
The newly emerged moth has yellowish scales on the forewing which are dissipated during early flight.
During the height of their season they can be found flying around Thrift, Thyme and in the case of the male below,Heather.
The flight encountered below was very close to ground level in motion similar to the letter S, presumably looking for the female.
Seeing these moths has been improved with the introduction of the pheromone lure which is normally HYL.
Worldwide Distribution: England : Ireland : Denmark : Central Europe : Bulgaria : Balkans : Greece : S.Russia : Caucasus
UK Distribution: Species usually recorded on the western coasts of of Devon and Cornwall and Scily Isles,Anglesey,Cumbria,Isle of Man and Ireland : Scotland - Kirkcudbrightshire,MorayForth,Aberdeenshire and Angus : Ireland - found on southern coasts and in Northern Ireland discovered at Co Antrim (MGBI)
UK Conservation Status -
- Nationally Scarce B (Nb - BAP : 1997) = 31 - 100 10Km Squares
- Least Concern
- Sphinx muscaeformis Esper, 1783
- Sesia triannuliformis Freyer, 1842(Synansphecia,not Pryopteron)
- Germany, Frankfurt am Main - ( On the main river)
Habitat: Rocky coastlines and cliffs
Similar Species -
- Six-belted Clearwing - Bembecia ichneumoniformis ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)
Larva: The larva is yellowish-white with the brownish dorsal vessel visible.The head is reddish-brown.The life cycle for this species is one year. The larva normally feeds on Thrift located in rock crevices.
Overwinters as: Part grown larva
Observations: This coastal species is the smallest of the Clearwings. The moth has three or four thin white "belts" located along the abdomen but lacks the orange scales that are found on the Six-belted Clearwing.
The newly emerged moth has yellowish scales on the forewing which are dissipated during early flight.
During the height of their season they can be found flying around Thrift, Thyme and in the case of the male below,Heather.
The flight encountered below was very close to ground level in motion similar to the letter S, presumably looking for the female.
Seeing these moths has been improved with the introduction of the pheromone lure which is normally HYL.
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.
- Plumbaginaeae - Plumbago & Leadworts
- Armeria maritima - Thrift - within roots
- Armeria maritima - Thrift - within roots
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 PYROPTERON: Original Species Name: Species Names: Genus Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Cossoidea Sesiidae Sesiinae PYROPTERON (Synansphecia) Newman, 1832 Pyropteron muscaeformis (Esper, 1783) - Sphinx Chrysidiformis (Esper, 1783) - SPHINX muscaeformis Esper, 1783 = Synansphecia muscaeformis (Esper, 1783) = Sesia philanthiformis Laspeyres, 1801 = Synansphecia musciformis Spuler, 1913 = Sesia philanthiformis accidentalis De Joannis, 1908 = Chamaesphecia aestivata Králícek, 1969 = muscaeforme auct. - PYROPTERON Newman, 1832 = Synansphecia Câpuse 1973 = Bembecia auct. = Chamaesphecia auct. - Die Schmetterlinge in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen. Theil II (7): Title Page : Page 217 : pl. 32, f. 5-6, - Germany, Frankfurt am Main - ( On the main river) |