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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Carpenter and Clearwing Moths (Cossoidea) » Clearwing Moths (Sesiidae) » Sesiinae » Synanthedonini » Synanthedon » Rhododendron Borer Moth - Hodges#2551 (Synanthedon rhododendri)

Species Synanthedon rhododendri - Rhododendron Borer Moth - Hodges#2551

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Synanthedon rhododendri (Beutenmuller) - Synanthedon rhododendri - male Synanthedon rhododendri (Beutenmuller) - Synanthedon rhododendri - male Clearwing Moth - Synanthedon rhododendri Clearwing moth - Synanthedon rhododendri Sesiidae unIDed - Synanthedon rhododendri Sesiidae unIDed - Synanthedon rhododendri Synanthedon bibionipennis - Synanthedon rhododendri Synanthedon - Synanthedon rhododendri
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)
Subfamily Sesiinae
Tribe Synanthedonini
Genus Synanthedon
Species rhododendri (Rhododendron Borer Moth - Hodges#2551)
Hodges Number
2551
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Synanthedon rhododendri (Beutenmuller, 1909)
Sesia rhododendri Beutenmueller 1909
Explanation of Names
Specific epithet named for the host species.
Numbers
Synanthedon includes at least 42 species in America north of Mexico. (1)
Size
Wingspan 10-15 mm. (2)
Larva to 10 mm. (3)
Pupa 5-9 mm. (3)
Identification
The original description as Sesia rhododendri Beutenmueller is available online in the print references below.
"The key to this species is the yellow posterior banding on abdominal segment 2, 4, and 5." William H. Taft
Please see notes on this photo.

Larva - body yellow-white and semitransparent, head and legs reddish brown. (3)
Range
Moth Photographers Group - large map with some distribution data.
Season
Adults fly from May to July. (4)
Food
Larvae bore into main stems of rhododendron and mountain laurel. (2)
Life Cycle
Life cycle PDF. (2)
Remarks
Considered an important pest. (2)
There are many online resources with information on the pest status.
See Also
Compare on the pinned plates of Moth Photographers Group.
Print References
Beutenmueller, W. 1909. Descriptions of three new Sesiidae. Entomological News, and Proceedings of the Entomological Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 20: 82
Engelhardt, G.P. 1946. The North American Clear-wing Moths of the family Aegeriidae. United States National Museum Bulletin 190: 42-43, pl.19, f.108 (5)
Neal, J.W. 1984. Bionomics and instar determination of Synanthedon rhododendri (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) on Rhododendron. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 77: 552-560.
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group
Penn State fact sheet online version (2)
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)
Works Cited
1.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.
2.Rhododendron Borer (Synanthedon rhododendri) Beutenmuller
Gregory A. Hoover. 2001. Pennsylvania State University.
3.Guide to insect borers in North American broadleaf trees and shrubs
Solomon, J.D. 1995. USDA Forest Service Agriculture Handbook. 735 pp.
4.North American Moth Photographers Group
5.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.
Contributed by Maury J. Heiman on 7 May, 2011 - 12:59pm
Additional contributions by Randy Hardy
Last updated 24 October, 2013 - 8:42am

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