Subject: Wasp w/hornet like coloring and long curled antennae
Geographic location of the bug: Portland OR
Date: 07/27/2018
Time: 06:59 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello,
Found this guy chilling on the shaded wall of a building, so still I thought he may have been asleep. 90+ F outside, so maybe he/she was just lethargic. We are in an industrial area of town near slow-moving swampy backwaters of the Columbia River, so it is a very entomologically active place. Spider wasp maybe? But so brightly colored!
How you want your letter signed: Thanks, Hayley
Dear Hayley,
This is neither a wasp nor a hornet. It is a Clearwing Moth in the family Sesiidae, a group with many species that are effective mimics of stinging insects. We have identified your moth on BugGuide as the American Hornet Moth, Sesia tibiale, and according to BugGuide, other common names include Poplar Clearwing Borer and Cottonwood Crown Borer.