Sesiidae

(clearwings), also Aegeriidae, a family of moths. The narrow wings generally have a spread of 15–15 mm. The abdomen is long and protrudes far beyond the wings. The antennae widen toward the apex and frequently have a tiny hairy tuft. The insects’ most characteristic feature is the absence of scales over most of the wing surface; as a result, many clearwings resemble hymenopterons. The moths usually fly during the day. The females lay eggs in cracks in bark or under the surface of plants. The white or yellowish caterpillars are naked (with tiny bristles) and live in the branches and trunks of trees and shrubs or, less commonly, in the stems and roots of herbaceous plants. The life cycle is generally two years.

There are more than 800 widely distributed species. Particularly common in the USSR are species of the genera Paranthrene,Aegeria, Sesia, and Synanthedon. Some species, for example, the poplar borer (Parathrene tabaniformis), coniferous-tree borer (Synanthedon cephiformis), current borer (S. tipuliformis), and apple-tree borer (5. myopaeformis), are injurious to forest, park, and orchard plantings.