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Family Sesiidae - Clearwing Moths

Carmenta mimuli (Hy. Edwards) - Carmenta mimuli - male wasp mimic clearwing moth,  Lesser Grape Root Borer - Vitacea scepsiformis - female 2554 Maple Callus Borer  - Synanthedon acerni Euhagena nebraskae - male Clearwing - Synanthedon bibionipennis - female orange wasp - Carmenta armasata Synanthedon bibionipennis? - Synanthedon bibionipennis - male Carmenta bassiformis??? - Carmenta
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Cossoidea (Carpenter and Clearwing Moths)
Family Sesiidae (Clearwing Moths)
Explanation of Names
From the type genus Sesia, Greek meaning "moth." (1), (2)
Numbers
Worldwide there are 160 genera and 1452 recognized species (January 2017) (Sesiidae.net).
Identification
Moths often resemble wasps and bees in coloration and marking.
Wings elongate, often transparent owing to the lack of scales.
Food
Most of the larvae are borers in the limbs, trunks, bark, or roots of trees, shrubs, herbs and vines. Some bore in galls on woody or herbaceous plants. Majority of adults take nectar. (3)
Life Cycle
Females signal they're ready to mate by emmiting a sex attractant. After mating eggs are deposited singly on the host plant. After hatching the larvae quickly bore into the host. Pupation usally takes place the following season. Before pupating, the larva constructs the exit gallery and exit hole leaving a thin layer of tissue to conceal the opening. Some species pupate underground. Many species have a two year life cycle. (3)
See Also
Print References
Beutenmüller, W. 1896. Critical review of the Sesiidae found in America, north of Mexico. American Museum of Natural History 8(7): 111-148
Beutenmüller, W. 1901. Monograph of the Sesiidae of America, north of Mexico. Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History 1(6): 218-352, pl.29-36 (4)
Duckworth, W. D. and Eichlin, T. D. 1977. A classification of the Sesiidae of America north of Mexico (Lepidoptera: Sesioidea). California Department Of Food and Agriculture Occasional Papers in Entomology, 26 (5)
Eichlin, T.D & W.D. Duckworth 1988. The Moths of America North of Mexico, Sesioidea, Sesiidae, Fascicle 5.1. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. (6)
Engelhardt, G.P. 1946. The North American Clear-wing Moths of the family Aegeriidae. United States National Museum Bulletin 190: 1-222, pl.17-32 (7)
Internet References
Sesiidae.net - world checklist
U. of FL. The Clearwings Borers of Florida
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
2.An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation of the names.
Anonymous. 1858. The Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge.
3.The Clearwing Moths of California (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae).
W. Donald Duckworth & Thomas D. Eichlin. 1978. California Department Of Food and Agriculture Occasional Papers in Entomology 27: 1-80, f.1-40, pl.1-8.
4.Monograph of the Sesiidae of America, north of Mexico.
William Beutenmüller. 1901. Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History 1(6): 218-352, pl.29-36.
5.A classification of the Sesiidae of America north of Mexico (Lepidoptera: Sesioidea)
W. D. Duckworth and T. D. Eichlin. 1977. California Dept. of Food and Agriculture, Occasional Papers in Entomology, No. 26.
6.The Moths of America North of Mexico, Sesioidea, Sesiidae, Fascicle 5.1
Thomas D. Eichlin and W. Donald Duckworth. 1988. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation.
7.The North American Clear-wing Moths of the family Aegeriidae.
George P. Engelhardt. 1946. United States National Museum Bulletin 190: 1-222, pl.1-32.