Lepidoptera The Currant Clearwing Moth – Sesia Tipuliformis
Fig. 104.-The Currant Clearwing.
This is by far the commonest of all the Clearwings, and only too well known to those who grow currants. Examine the shoots of Ribes rubrum (red currant) and R. nigrum (black currant), especially those that present a withered or half-withered appearance, and you will almost certainly meet with signs of the presence of this intruder. Little wriggling larva occupy the pithless stems throughout the winter and spring. These are full grown in April, and in June the pretty little moth emerges through a hole in the side of a shoot, leaving the empty pupa case within its former home.
The fore wings of this moth have black margins, and a black transverse bar beyond the middle. The body is black, with three pale yellow belts, and black tufts of hair at the tip.