Waterlily Borer Moth vs Peachtree Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Waterlily Borer Moth Peachtree Borer
Scientific Name Elophila gyralis Synanthedon exitiosa
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Crambidae Sesiidae
Size 18-24 mm wingspan 25–33 mm wingspan
Habitat Ponds & Lakes Orchards
Diet Herbivores Fruit Feeders
Regions Eastern North America North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Waterlily Borer Moth

A small pale brown moth with wavy dark lines across its wings. Its larvae are aquatic, living underwater in cases made from fragments of waterlily leaves.

💡

Did You Know?

The larvae breathe underwater using modified gills and never surface until they are ready to pupate.

Peachtree Borer

A clearwing moth that is the most destructive borer of peach trees in North America. Larvae feed in the bark at the soil line of stone fruit trees.

💡

Did You Know?

A single larva can girdle and kill a young peach tree in one season by feeding completely around the trunk base.