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Photo#29295
Clearwing Moth - Alcathoe caudata - male

Clearwing Moth - Alcathoe caudata - Male
Bolton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA
August 22, 2005
This was a different individual than the other similar picture.

Alcathoe caudata
This moth is Alcathoe caudata. I read the describe of it on page 138 of Sesioidea by Dr. Eichlin, The Moths of America North of Mexico.

 
Maybe?
Thanks for the info, Richard. I looked on the net for an image, and the only one I could find for Alcathoe caudata was this Hodges #2623. It looks a little different than mine, so I'm not quite sure.

 
More Than Maybe....
... Richard Gillmore is correct. There are 4 specimens of this species shown in MONA Fascicle 5.1 where Richard read the description. One looks like this photo, one looks like the photo you linked to at MPG. Now we just need photos of the two other forms (plus sexual morphs and regional variants).

 
Thanks Bob and Richard
Sounds like there's a few different looks this moth can come in, that can be quite different. What's that appendage extending from the end of it's abdomen? Is it a difference between gender?

 
Such structures
are found in males of several families. They are inflatable eversible sacs. They are called coremata. Function appears to be unknown but I would be surprised if they were not pheromone emitters involved in recognition of the males by the females.

 
It's a male character of this genus......
...."Alcathoe is unique in that the males, at least of the species found north of Mexico, have a long, slender, flexible, scaled process (text figure 38 b), which extends posteriorly from the dorsomedial posterior end of the eighth abdominal segment. This process is longer than the abdomen in many cases." ~ MONA fascicle 5.1

There is no discussion regarding the function of this process. It is unclear whether the males of the several species of Alcathoe can be identified solely by the length/coloration of this process, but I doubt that they can be. Other visible markings need to be considered.

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