Orange Sulphur vs Currant Clearwing

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Orange Sulphur Currant Clearwing
Scientific Name Colias eurytheme Synanthedon tipuliformis
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Pieridae Sesiidae
Size 35-55 mm wingspan 17-22 mm wingspan
Habitat Grasslands Underground
Diet Nectar Feeders Omnivores
Regions North America Europe, temperate Asia (introduced worldwide)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Orange Sulphur

Orange-yellow butterfly with black wing borders and a pink-rimmed silver spot on the hindwing underside. Often hybridizes with Clouded Sulphur.

💡

Did You Know?

It became vastly more abundant after European settlers introduced alfalfa farming across North America.

Currant Clearwing

A small wasp-mimicking moth with transparent wings and a black body banded with yellow. Its larvae bore into the stems of currant and gooseberry bushes.

💡

Did You Know?

Its wasp mimicry is so convincing that gardeners who encounter it rarely realise they are looking at a moth.