Banded Ash Clearwing – Podosesia aureocincta

Banded Ash Clearwing (Podosesia aureocincta) Latin Name: Podosesia aureocincta Common Name: Banded Ash Clearwing Appearance: Adult clearwings are somewhat bigger than ash borers, with violet-brown forewings that are mostly black. The body is brownish-black, but abdominal segment 4 has a conspicuous, thin, upward-tapering brilliant orange-yellow stripe running along the back. Because they have fewer crochets on their abdomen legs than ash borer larvae, they may be recognized (12 to 16 per row vs. 16 to 20 per row, respectively). Host plants: Podosesia syringae affects lilac (Syringa), ash (Fraxinus), privet (Ligustrum), and many other trees and shrubs, but Podosesia aureocincta prefers green (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) and white (Fraxinus alba) ash (F. Americana). Territory: Throughout the United States: Damage caused by Banded Ash Clearwing: The damage is identical to that caused by the ash borer, although it occurs at a different time of year. Late in the summer, females deposit their eggs. Larvae begin feeding soon after, and this continues into the fall, causing sap to ooze and fine frass to be extruded from attack sites. The frass becomes coarse and granular the next spring and summer, and it is extruded in tiny clumps. From late summer through winter, pupal skins can be spotted protruding from exit pores in the bark. Life history and Habits: The moth and butterfly clan include the banded ash clearwing. This pest’s mature form is a gorgeous moth. It imitates the look of a stinging paper wasp and so protects itself from predators. Over the last week or so, adult banded ash clearwings have begun to emerge from the trunks and major branches of ash trees. The female moth sends a pheromone or chemical signal into the air after the flight. These alerts nearby males that a mate is on the way. Clearwing borers are caterpillars that burrow through the bark and consume the nutritious tissue underneath it. The eggs develop in a few days. Larvae grow and develop during the rest of this fall and the entire spring and summer of the next year, consuming ever-increasing amounts of living tissues beneath the tree’s bark.