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Sticker of Maple callus borer moth
Bug card No. 2743 of 4,939

Maple callus borer moth

Synanthedon acerni
Eats: PlantsMothsGardens and meadows6 legs

The maple callus borer moth is a small moth from North America. It belongs to the clearwing moths, many of which look a lot like wasps. Its caterpillars live on maple trees.

Lives in
Eastern Canada and much of the eastern United States
Wingspan
1.8 to 2.5 cm (0.71 to 0.98 in)
Top speed
about 11 km/h (6.8 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It may look a bit like a wasp, but it cannot sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars feed on maple trees.
For real!Photo of Maple callus borer moth
Picture by James Solomon, USDA Forest Service, United States. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

Maple callus borer moth wings about 2.5 cm tip to tip (0.98 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
wings as wide as 4 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 34 seconds

How big is Maple callus borer moth compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its wings measure about 2 centimetres from tip to tip.

2

In Canada it flies in June and July, but in the United States it can be seen from April.

3

Clearwing moths pretend to be wasps, which helps keep hungry birds away.

you asked

Most asked questions about Maple callus borer moth

?Can the maple callus borer moth sting?

No. It is a moth and has no sting, even if it looks a bit like a wasp.

?What does the maple callus borer moth eat?

Its caterpillars feed on maple trees.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Synanthedon acerni
Group
Moths
Family
Sesiidae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Sesiidae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Maple callus borer

Where the facts come from

  1. Synanthedon acerni (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by James Solomon, USDA Forest Service, United States. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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