Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFSesiidae Members: Albuna Members: 2 NC Records

Albuna fraxini (Edwards, 1881) - Virginia Creeper Clearwing

Albuna fraxiniAlbuna fraxini
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Sesioidea		 Family:
Sesiidae		Subfamily:
Tinthiinae		Tribe:
Paranthrenini		P3 Number:
55a0070		 MONA Number:
2532.00
Comments: North America has 136 or more species in the family Sesiidae, with 37 species found in North Carolina. Many being similar in appearance to one another. Some are significant pests of commercial crops, and almost all are mimics of wasps and hornets.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Engelhardt (1946)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is a distinctive species, with the males having prominent black tufts on the forelegs, a reddish discal bar that is preceded by a prominent black blotch, and a conspicuous, flared anal tuft. Females have a more robust body and a simple antenna that is more boldly contrasting with black and yellow. The labial palps are entirely black and the anal tuft is short and blunt. The forewing is almost entirely opaque and the discal mark more conspicuously red than in the male. The following detailed description of the male is based primarily on that of Engelhardt (1946).

The bipectinate antenna is pale yellow to whitish and shaded with black on the basal half and tip. The labial palp is pale yellow at the base and black along the sides and toward the tip. The head is black, and the collar black with a whitish patch at the sides. The thorax is black, with the tegulae violaceous, and with a narrow pale-yellow strip at the sides that extends from the wing base to the collar. The metathorax is fringed with white at the sides and below, while the abdomen is entirely black. The anal tuft is black and broadly fan-shaped. The forewing is hyaline except for heavy blackish scaling on the terminal fourth, along the veins and margins, and as an oval, black spot just anterior to the orangish or reddish discal spot. The hindwing is mostly hyaline with brownish-black in a narrow band along the wing margins, on the discal spot, and along the veins and fringe.
Wingspan: Males 24-26 mm and females 25-27 mm (Engelhardt, 1946)
Forewing Length: 8-15 mm (Eichlin and Duckworth, 1988).
Adult Structural Features: See below.
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae bore in the roots of Virginia Creeper, but most aspects of the larval life history are undocumented (Eichlin and Duckworth, 1988).
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Albuna fraxini has northern affinities and occurs in a broad swath from southern Quebec and the New England states southward to Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, then westward through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to northern Colorado, central Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, eastern North Dakota and southern Manitoba. As of 2024, we have a single record from Ashe County in the northern Blue Ridge.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Albuna fraxiniAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Flight Comments: The adults have been observed from June through September in different areas of the range, with a seasonal peak in July. As of 2024, our one state record is from 28 July.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations are found where Virginia Creeper is present, and typically in mesic forests or forest edge habitats.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are borers in Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) (Eichlin and Duckworth, 1988). - View
Observation Methods: The adults are diurnally active and are often found resting on vegetation during the day or nectaring on wildflowers. They are not attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S1S2]
State Protection:
Comments: This species appears to be very rare within the state and disjunct from the main range farther north.

 Photo Gallery for Albuna fraxini - Virginia Creeper Clearwing

Photos: 2
Albuna fraxiniRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-09
Ashe Co.
Comment: 		Albuna fraxiniRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-09
Ashe Co.
Comment: