Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Melittia grandis (Strecker, 1881)
Trochilium grande Strecker 1881
* phylogenetic sequence #079525
Size
Forewing length 16-21 mm.
(2)Identification
Melittia grandis (Strecker) - female
Det. R. E. Fleischer, 2010
Food
Larval Host: Cucurbita foetidissima - Missouri gourd
Remarks
The host of this large moth is Curcurbita foetidissima. I have captured this moth in both southwest Kansas and southern Arizona but it is also found in California, Texas, New Mexico. The leg and abdomen coloration are good characteristics for positive identification as compared with M. gloriosa (William H. Taft, 29 June, 2008).
Print References
Beuttenmüller, W. 1901. Monograph of the Sesiidae of America, north of Mexico. Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History 1(6):
235-236,
pl.29, f.4
(3)
Duckworth, W.D & T.D. Eichlin 1978. The Clearwing Moths of California (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae). California Department Of Food and Agriculture Occasional Papers in Entomology 27: 1-80, f.1-40, pl.1-8 (
PDF)
(4)
Engelhardt, G.P. 1946. The North American Clear-wing Moths of the family Aegeriidae. United States National Museum Bulletin 190:
184-186 (5)
Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. pl.13.18f, p.124
(2)
Strecker, H. 1881. Description of a new species of
Trochilium. Can. Entom., 13(7): 156.
Full Text