''Synanthedon exitiosa'', the peachtree borer, is a species of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

in the family

Sesiidae The Sesiidae or clearwing moths are a diurnal moth family in the order Lepidoptera known for their Batesian mimicry in both appearance and behaviour of various Hymenoptera. The family consists of 165 genera spread over two subfamilies, contai ...

that is native to North America.Strickland, J. S
''Synanthedon exitiosa''.
Featured Creatures. Department of Entomology and Nematology. University of Florida IFAS. Updated October 2014. The adult female of the species has a wingspan of about 3.5 centimeters. It is dark metallic blue in color with an orange band around the abdomen. It has opaque forewings and clear hindwings. The male is smaller and more slender, and both pairs of wings are clear. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

is up to 3.5 centimeters long and white with a brown head. The host plants are trees and

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s of the genus ''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the p ...

'', such as

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

, and

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

. The female lays eggs around the base of the trunk and the larvae bore into it. They feed on the

cambium A cambium (plural cambia or cambiums), in plants, is a tissue layer that provides partially undifferentiated cells for plant growth. It is found in the area between xylem and phloem. A cambium can also be defined as a cellular plant tissue from w ...

, producing damage so severe it often kills the tree.

Gallery

Synanthedon_exitiosa.jpg, Adult Synanthedon exitiosa larva.jpg, Caterpillar Synanthedon exitiosa damage.jpg, Damage

References

External links

Species info at Bug Guide
Sesiidae Agricultural pest insects Moths described in 1823 {{Sesiidae-stub