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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Carpenter and Clearwing Moths (Cossoidea) » Clearwing Moths (Sesiidae) » Tinthiinae » Paranthrenini » Paranthrene » Red Oak Clearwing Moth - Hodges#2527 (Paranthrene simulans)

Species Paranthrene simulans - Red Oak Clearwing Moth - Hodges#2527

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Sesia tibiale? - Paranthrene simulans - male - female

Paranthrene simulans, Hornet Clearwing, for Louisiana - Paranthrene simulans

Hornet Clearwing - Paranthrene simulans - male - female

Paranthrene simulans from North Central Texas - Paranthrene simulans

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Cossoidea (Carpenter and Clearwing Moths)

Family Sesiidae (Clearwing Moths)

Subfamily Tinthiinae

Tribe Paranthrenini

Genus Paranthrene

Species simulans (Red Oak Clearwing Moth - Hodges#2527)

Hodges Number

2527

Other Common Names

Oak Clearwing Borer

Red Oak Clearwing (1)

Golden Oak Borer (2)

Southern Yellowjacket Clearwing

"Hornet" Clearwing - an unfortunate misnomer as the mimic is a yellowjacket and not even a hornet

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Paranthrene simulans (Grote, 1881)

Trichilium simulans Grote, 1881

* phylogenetic sequence #079150

Explanation of Names

similāns = participle form of the Latin similō, meaning "to imitate." (3)

Size

Wingspan: ♂ 27-36 mm, ♀ 30-40 mm. (1)

Forewing length 12-18 mm. (2)

Identification

Adult - closely resembles a queen southern yellowjacket, Vespula squamosa. (1)

Larva - purple-brown with black head and yellow-brown thoracic shield. Prominent elliptical spiracles. (1)

Range

Eastern two thirds of the United States and southern Canada. From Novia Scotia to Florida, west to Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi. (2), (4), (5)

Season

Adults fly April to June in the south and June through July in the north. (1)

Food

Larvae bore into solid wood of many species of oaks, preferring young or damaged trees. (1), (2) Also American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) (1)

Life Cycle

Two year life cycle heaviest in odd-numbered years. See Solomon in Print References. (1), (2)

Remarks

Woodpeckers consume many larvae. Pterocormus saucius is a known parasite. (1)

The common name of "hornet clearwing" is a misnomer as this species is a mimic of a species of yellowjacket, not a hornet.

See Also

Mimic of Vespula squamosa:

Queen (♀♀) Worker (♀) Male (♂)

Print References

Beuttenmüller, W. 1901. Monograph of the Sesiidae of America, north of Mexico. Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History 1(6): 250-251, pl.29, f.16 (6)

Brown, L.N. & R.F. Mizell, III 1993. The Clearwing Borers of Florida (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae). Tropical Lepidoptera 4(4): 1-21 (PDF) (2)

Covell Jr., C.V. 1984. A field guide to Eastern Moths. Houghton Mifflin Company. p.425, pl.61.6 (7)

Edwards, Hy. 1881. A new species of North American Aegeriadae. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 3: 78-79

Engelhardt, G.P. 1946. The North American Clear-wing Moths of the family Aegeriidae. United States National Museum Bulletin 190: 145-146, pl.27, f.163 (5)

Solomon, J.D. 1995. Guide to insect borers in North American broadleaf trees and shrubs. USDA Forest Service Agriculture Handbook AH-706: 35-38, f.13 (download menu) (1)

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group

Forestry Images

Georgia Leps

Wikipedia

Works Cited

1.	Guide to insect borers in North American broadleaf trees and shrubs Solomon, J.D. 1995. USDA Forest Service Agriculture Handbook. 735 pp.

2.	The Clearwing Borers of Florida (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae). Larry N. Brown & Russel F. Mizell, III. 1993. Tropical Lepidoptera 4(4): 1-21.

3.	Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.

4.	North American Moth Photographers Group

5.	The North American Clear-wing Moths of the family Aegeriidae. George P. Engelhardt. 1946. United States National Museum Bulletin 190: 1-222, pl.1-32.

6.	Monograph of the Sesiidae of America, north of Mexico. William Beutenmüller. 1901. Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History 1(6): 218-352, pl.29-36.

7.	Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths Charles V. Covell. 1984. Houghton Mifflin Company.

Contributed by Cotinis on 30 April, 2005 - 2:06pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, Randy Hardy, PaleoJon
Last updated 27 April, 2023 - 9:46pm

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