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Project Noah Nature School
Albuna fraxini
This moth was such a stunner! Its forewings were partly black and marked with reddish purple and an orange discal bar. The abdomen was black and had a flared, brushy tuft at the tip. Antennae have a white band near the ends.
Spotted resting low near the ground on vegetation in a deciduous forest. I tried to be very stealthy to sneak up on this moth before it got scared away. I knew I would have to use my flash, which would undoubtedly scare it off. So, I basically got one shot before it took off. I would have loved to get more shots of this beauty! It's my first time finding a clearwing borer!
Spotted on Jul 19, 2018
Submitted on Jul 22, 2018
5 Comments
Thanks so much for all of the comments and for SOTD! I was thrilled to find this little beauty, but would have walked right by it if the iridescent scales hadn't caught my eye!
Congrats Christine!
Amazing find! Never seen anything like it.
Congratulations Christine, your Virginia Creeper Clearwing is our Spotting of the Day:
#NationalMothWeek Moths come in all kinds of shapes and colors! Our Spotting of the Day, a Virginia Creeper Clearwing (Albuna fraxini), belongs to the family Sesiidae, the members of which are know to be mimics of various Hymenoptera both in appearance and behavior. Sesiids can for instance have wings with areas missing scales, resulting in partial transparency, and commonly have elongated and narrow forewings. The larvae of the Sesiidae are often wood borers and many species are considered serious pests.
National Moth Week is from July 21-29. Are you participating? You can still register a public or private event here: https://buff.ly/2LCh5ge, especially if your country or region isn't on the map yet!
On Project Noah you can submit photos of moths you spot here: https://buff.ly/2LBq7tK
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Beautiful spotting.