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Bee-Mimic Moth
Bugman,
This moth looks similar to Dolls Clearwig Moth and the California Sycamore Borer, but not quite! Found in State College, PA. Please help! Thanks!
Kelsey

Hi Kelsey,
This is definitely one of the Sesiidae, Clearwing Borer Moths. We believe it might be the Raspberry Crown Borer, Pennisetia marginata, according to an image on BugGuide. The leaf in your photo, which we cropped to increase the size of the moth, looks like a raspberry leaf which is further evidence to support our possible identification. Entomologist Julian Donahue wrote in with this information: “Daniel, It seems to be a female, and agrees well with the description and illustration of Pennisetia marginata (Harris), the Raspberry Crown Borer, widespread in eastern North America and the Pacific Coast. I wouldn’t dare take this tentative identification to the bank without being able to actually handle the specimen and key it out. There is so much mimicry in the Sesiidae that I have to look at actual structural details like venation and genitalia (neither evident in the photograph) just to get it identified to subfamily. The major North American reference on this group which I consulted: The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 5.1, Sesiidae, by Thomas D. Eichlin & W. Donald Duckworth (1988), published by the Wedge Entomological Research Foundation and distributed by Entomological Reprint Specialists (available online at Entomological Reprint Specialists). Hope this helps. Julian “

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