Bug FAQVirginia Creeper Clearwing
Albuna fraxini · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Sesiidae
Also called: Virginia Creeper Clearwing Moth
Source: Wikipedia
Albuna fraxini, known as the Virginia creeper clearwing, is a small moth with an 18 mm wingspan. Its caterpillars eat Virginia creeper and various ash trees, so they may harm those garden and forest plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Albuna fraxini belongs to the clearwing moth family Sesiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult’s wingspan measures about 18 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in the northern United States and southern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae feed on Virginia creeper and on white, red, green, and European ash, sometimes also on mountain-ash.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females release pheromones right after they emerge from their pupae to attract mates. Adult moths usually live only about a week.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from June through August.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes the northern United States and southern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 24 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do the larvae eat?
The caterpillars feed on Virginia creeper and several ash species, which can harm those plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How do the moths find mates?
Females emit pheromones soon after emerging from the pupal stage to attract males.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Sesiidae)
Purplish CopperLycaena helloides
Squash Vine BorerEichlinia cucurbitaeDamages trees, gardens or crops
Bronze CopperLycaena hyllus
Maple Callus Borer MothSynanthedon acerniDamages trees, gardens or crops
Southern Red RimBiblis hyperia
Peachtree Borer MothSynanthedon exitiosaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuna_fraxini
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.