Was-mimicry
Guides
Alydus calcaratus
ant bug
Alydus calcaratus is a large, dark plant bug in the family Alydidae with a Holarctic distribution spanning Europe, Asia, and northern North America. It is the sole representative of its family in northern Central Europe outside the Alps. Adults are 10–12 mm, blackish with an orange-red dorsal abdomen visible only in flight, and exhibit wasp-like resemblance. Nymphs are convincing ant mimics with an unclear relationship to ant nests. The species feeds primarily on fallen legume seeds, with carrion-feeding also observed.
Synanthedon viburni
Viburnum Clearwing Borer, Arrowwood Borer
A clearwing moth in the family Sesiidae that develops as a borer in viburnum shrubs. Adults are diurnal and wasp-mimicking, with transparent wings and dark bodies. The species is a documented pest of native arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) and European cranberry bush viburnum (V. trilobum), causing crown damage that can kill established plants.
Zenodoxus palmii
Zenodoxus palmii is a species of clearwing moth in the family Sesiidae, first described by Berthold Neumoegen in 1891 from specimens collected in the southwestern United States and Mexico. As a member of the subfamily Tinthiinae, it belongs to a group of sesiid moths often associated with monocot host plants. The species exhibits the characteristic wasp-mimicry typical of clearwing moths, with reduced wing scaling that leaves transparent areas on the wings. It is one of relatively few described species in the genus Zenodoxus, which is primarily distributed in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions.