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Species Melittia cucurbitae - Squash Vine Borer - Hodges#2536

Squash Vine Borer - Melittia cucurbitae Squash Borer Moth - Melittia cucurbitae - female Wasp? - Melittia cucurbitae Squash Vine Borer on Gooseneck Loosestrife - Melittia cucurbitae Squash Vine Borer Larva - Melittia cucurbitae Side Shot While Feeding - Melittia cucurbitae Plant Bug?  Orange and black with raggedy wings. - Melittia cucurbitae Orange Bug On Pepper Plant - Melittia cucurbitae
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
No Taxon (Moths)
Superfamily Sesioidea
Family Sesiidae (Clearwing Moths)
Subfamily Sesiinae
Tribe Melittiini
Genus Melittia
Species cucurbitae (Squash Vine Borer - Hodges#2536)
Hodges Number
2536
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Melittia satyriniformis
Explanation of Names
Species name from Latin name for squash/gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, I presume. [PC]
Size
Winspan 25-32 mm
Identification
Day-flying wasp mimic. Abdomen bright orange.
Eggs are oval, football shaped.
Range
Includes eastern North America.
Season
Adults fly April-November (two broods in south)
Food
Larvae feed (stem borer) on squash, gourds, pumpkins, i.e. Cucurbitaceae.
Adults take nectar.
Print References
Covell, p. 426, plate 61 #9 (1)
Internet References
Moth Photographers roup - photographs of living and pinned adults
MIACY live adult image plus common name reference and other info (John Himmelman, Connecticut)
Works Cited
1.Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America
By Charles V. Covell, Jr.