Emerald-ash-borer-look-alike
Guides
Podosesia aureocincta
Banded Ash Borer Moth, Banded Ash Clearwing
Podosesia aureocincta is a clearwing moth in the family Sesiidae that infests ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). Unlike the invasive emerald ash borer, this native pest causes gradual damage over years or decades rather than rapid tree mortality. Adults emerge in late summer, exhibiting Batesian mimicry of paper wasps with their yellow-banded abdomens and clear wings. Larvae tunnel beneath bark, producing sawdust-like frass and round exit holes distinct from the D-shaped holes of emerald ash borer. The species is distributed across the Nearctic region.