Sesiidae, Boisduval, 1828

Pohl, Greg, Anweiler, Gary, Schmidt, Christian & Kondla, Norbert, 2010, An annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Alberta, Canada, ZooKeys 38 (38), pp. 1-549 : 90

34. Sesiidae – clearwing moths

Small to medium sized (15–40 mm wingspan) moths with narrow wings. In most species the wings are at least partly transparent, with the scales primarily restricted to the veins and wing margins. Adults of many species have brightly colored bodies and are convincing mimics of bees or wasps. These moths are diurnal, and at least some species visit flowers, but they are rarely observed. Most recent collecting has been done with traps baited with synthetic pheromones. Larvae are stem and root borers in woody plants and larger herbs. A few species are pests of ornamental and orchard trees and of berry crop plants.

Over 1100 species of sesiids are known worldwide, including 128 species from North America; 26 species are reported from AB. Th e family is fairly well known in North America; Eichlin and Duckworth (1988) revised the entire family, and five more species have been added since then.