Ctenuchid Wasp Moth Adult Emergence

Description:

This adult female Wasp Moth emerged on 31 October from the Pupa and larvae of the previous two spottings. I haven't seen this one before and we do have a black wasp like it in our area. Pupation to emergence took 17 days. This moth is 1.5 cm long, completely black with a red spot on either side of the head above the eyes (and they look like red eyes from a distance!). The tips of the wings are white and there is a narrow white band crossing the underside of the abdomen where it meets the thorax. The edges of the white band are visible in several of the pictures. The basal segments of the tarsi and the thin tips of the antennae are also white. To admire how accurate this mimicry is see: https://openi.nlm.nih.gov/detailedresult.... See this spotting for the Vespid wasp model from the Chiflón Waterfall of Chiapas, a dead ringer in mimicry: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/170....

Habitat:

Semi-rural residential area, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico 2,200 meters.

Notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctenuchina... For the previous spotting of the larva see: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/116.... For the previous spotting of the pupation process see: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/182.... References for the species: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/332694-... http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/455... http://v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxb...