Red-Belted Clearwing

Synanthedon myopaeformis

1. Identification

• Common name: Red-belted clearwing
• Scientific name: Synanthedon myopaeformis Borkhausen
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Family: Sesiidae

2. Pest description

• Adults similar to small wasps, with transparent wings and a narrow body.
• Black colouring with a characteristic red band on the abdomen.
• Whitish, cylindrical larvae bore into trunks and branches.
• Wood-boring species that develops inside the wood.
• Discreet activity, often detected only by the internal damage.

3. Main hosts

• Apple tree.
• Pear tree.
• Quince tree.
• Other pome and stone fruit trees.

4. Symptoms and damage

• Perforations and internal galleries in the trunk and branches.
• Exudation of sap and fine sawdust at the entry holes.
• Structural weakening of the branches.
• Reduction of vigour and production.
• Progressive decline in orchards with repeated attacks.

5. Biological cycle

• One generation per year.
• Oviposition in summer in bark crevices.
• Larvae bore into the wood 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 exudation and sawdust on the trunks.
• 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 orchard.

7. Management measures

• Cultural: pruning and destruction of infested branches, improvement of canopy ventilation and proper healing of wounds.
• 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 myopaeformis.
• CABI Invasive Species Compendium – S. myopaeformis.
• DGAV – Plant health fact sheets and alerts on pome fruit pests (2019–2024).
• ICNF – Technical reports on stone fruit and pome fruit pests (2019–2023).
• Alford, D. (2007). Pest management in fruit crops.