Hornet moth (Sesia apiformis)

A female hornet moth photographed from above, showing the yellow-and-black banded body, the yellow head and shoulder patches, and the narrow, amber-tinted wings that make it look so unlike a moth. It belongs to the clearwing family, and its model is the European hornet. Up close the copy has flaws: more yellow than a hornet, no narrow wasp waist and harmless mouthparts. At a glance, especially when it takes off with a jerky, hornet-like flight, birds are not inclined to check. The caterpillars spend two or three years boring under the bark at the base of poplars and willows before the adults emerge in early summer.