New clearwing moth species discovered in Thailand’s jungle!

Aurantiosphecia piotrii is not only a species new to science, but because it didn't "fit" into any known genus, a new genus, Aurantiosphecia, has been derived. The vivid orange, black and white colour patterns on this spectacular clearwing moth indicate that it potentially mimics a braconid wasp which might also be it's parasitoid, i.e. a wasp that feeds on and eventually kills its host - in this case a clearwing moth larva. This hypothesis, however, needs further studies. The discovery has been published in Insects (2020) 11:425, doi:10.3390/insects11070425.

SkowronVolponi_Aurantiosphecia piotrii_I.

Download • 1.50MB