Currant clearwing moth

Synanthedon tipuliformis

1. Identification

• Common name: Currant clearwing
• Scientific name: Synanthedon tipuliformis Clerck
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Family: Sesiidae

2. Pest description

• Adults similar to small wasps, with transparent wings and a narrow body.
• Metallic dark-blue colouring with yellow rings on the abdomen.
• Whitish, cylindrical larvae bore into stems and branches.
• Wood-boring species that develops inside the branches of small fruits.
• Discreet activity, often detected only by the internal damage.

3. Main hosts

• Currant bush.
• Blackcurrant.
• Redcurrant.
• Gooseberry (Ribes spp.).

4. Symptoms and damage

• Wilting and drying of young branches.
• Perforations and internal galleries in the stems.
• Easy breakage of the affected branches.
• Reduction of production and plant vigour.
• Progressive decline in plantations with repeated attacks.

5. Biological cycle

• One generation per year.
• Oviposition in early summer at the base of the branches.
• Larvae bore into the stems and develop inside for several months.
• Pupation inside the galleries the following spring.
• Adults emerge in late spring and early summer.

6. Monitoring

• Observation of wilted or brittle branches.
• Cross-section cutting of suspect branches to detect galleries.
• Monitoring of flights with pheromone traps.
• Assessment of the percentage of affected branches.
• Annual recording of the pest's evolution in the plot.

7. Management measures

• Cultural: pruning and destruction of infested branches, improvement of canopy ventilation and removal of heavily weakened plants.
• Biological: use of pheromones for monitoring and possible mass trapping.
• Integrated protection: interventions only when justified, judicious application of authorised insecticides and integration of cultural practices to reduce the incidence of the pest.

Bibliographic references

• EPPO Global Database – Synanthedon tipuliformis.
• CABI Invasive Species Compendium – S. tipuliformis.
• DGAV – Plant health fact sheets and alerts on small-fruit pests (2019–2024).
• ICNF – Technical reports on pests of small fruit trees (2019–2023).
• Alford, D. (2007). Pest management in fruit crops.