Sesiidae  

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Adult Thorax Morphology:

Wing venation??description:

Forewing venation reduced behind CuA, R4 and R5 stalked, CuP absent, 1A+2A short (sometimes lost).  Hindwing with veins Sc+R1 and Rs parallel and close to the costal fold.

Wing venation:

heteroneurous

Wing coupling description:

Unique retinaculo-frenate wing coupling mechanism involving a foldment of the posterior margin of forewing ventrally bent connected with a dorsally folded costal margin in the hindwing.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorLeptree.net, Joaquin Baixeras, LepTree
Sourcehttp://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=19065&scientificName=Sesiidae

Adult Head Morphology:

Ocelli:

present

Labial palpus:

porrect, upcurved

Labial palpus modification:

Distal segment smooth-scaled

Maxillary palpus:

absent

Proboscis:

present

Mandibles:

absent

Female antennae:

pectinate

Male pedicel description:

Usually ventrally ciliate

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorLeptree.net, Joaquin Baixeras, LepTree
Sourcehttp://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=19065&scientificName=Sesiidae

Synapomorphies:

Apomorphies:

Retinaculo-frenate wing coupling supplemented by unique modification of adjacent wing margins.  Female frenulum with a single bristle.  Forewing behind CuA with only short, unbranched remnant of 1A+2A (often lost).  Hindwing with medial stem displaced forward.  Wasp-like wing proportions, with proximally markedly narrowed forewing

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorLeptree.net, Joaquin Baixeras, LepTree
Sourcehttp://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=19065&scientificName=Sesiidae

Associations:

Animal / parasitoid / endoparasitoid
larva of Bithia modesta is endoparasitoid of larva of Sesiidae

Animal / parasitoid / endoparasitoid
larva of Leskia aurea is endoparasitoid of larva of Sesiidae

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorBioImages, BioImages - the Virtual Fieldguide (UK)
Sourcehttp://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/Sesiidae.htm

Systematic and taxonomic history:

Systematic and taxonomic history:

The family historically was known as Aegeriidae, which was proposed by Stephens in 1828, based on the genus Aegeria, which was described by Fabricius in Illiger 1807. The name Sesiidae was proposed by Boisduval in 1828, based on the genus Sesia Fabricius 1775. It is now widely accepted that Sesiidae is the correct name for the family. Sesiids traditionally were considered to be most closely related to Choretuidae and Tortricidae, but Cossidae, Castniidae, and Brachodidae have all been implicated as close relatives of Sesiidae over the last few decades. Heppner (1998) placed Sesiidae and Brachodidae as sister groups with Urodidae Choreuridae as the sister to that pair. Minet (1986, 1991) proposed that Sesioidea is comprised of Brachodidae (Sesiidae Castniidae), and this arrangement was followed by Edawrds et al. (1999) who further linked Cossoidea to the Sesioidea and referred to it as the “Cossoid/Sesioid Assemblage." According to Edwards et al. (1999), “The foundations for a modern phylogenetic classification of the Sesiidae were laid by Naumann (1971)…” who divided the family into two subfamilies based primarily on the Holarctic fauna. Tinthiinae includes three tribes: Tinthiini, Pennisetiini, Paraglosseciini, and Similipepsini. Sesiinae includes six tribes: Paranthrenini, Cissuvorini, Sesiini, Osminiini, Melittiini, and Synanthedonini.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorLeptree.net, Joaquin Baixeras, LepTree
Sourcehttp://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=19065&scientificName=Sesiidae

Fossil Record:

Fossil record:

No published fossil records.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorLeptree.net, Joaquin Baixeras, LepTree
Sourcehttp://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=19065&scientificName=Sesiidae

Statistics of barcoding coverage:

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:4539
Specimens with Sequences:3893
Specimens with Barcodes:3476
Species:713
Species With Barcodes:671
Public Records:302
Public Species:112
Public BINs:121

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorSujeevan Ratnasingham, Paul D.N. Hebert, Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)
Sourcehttp://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=503

Barcode data:

Access Published & Released Data: Download FASTA File

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorSujeevan Ratnasingham, Paul D.N. Hebert, Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)
Sourcehttp://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=503

Locations of barcode samples:

Collection Sites: world map showing specimen collection locations for Sesiidae

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorSujeevan Ratnasingham, Paul D.N. Hebert, Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)
Sourcehttp://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=503

Sesiidae:

The Sesiidae or clearwing moths are a family of the Lepidoptera in most species of which the wings partially have hardly any of the normal lepidopteran scales, leaving them transparent. The bodies are generally striped with yellow, red or white, sometimes very brightly, and they have simple antennae. The general appearance is sufficiently similar to a wasp or hornet to make it likely that the moths gain a reduction in predation by Batesian mimicry. This enables them to be active in daylight. They are commonly collected using pheromone lures. Worldwide there are 151 genera, 1370 species, and 50 subspecies. Most of these occur in the tropics, but there are many species in the Holarctic region.

The larvae of the Sesiidae typically bore in wood or burrow in plant roots. Many species are serious pests of fruit-tree or timber cultivation, or crop plants (e.g. Melittia spp. on squash) (Edwards et al., 1999).

These moths should not be confused with the Hemaris genus of the family Sphingidae, which are also known as clearwing moths in the U.S., but normally as bee hawk-moths in Britain. Hemaris moths have generally fatter, furrier bodies than sesiid clearwings, looking similar to bumble bees, and lack the striped colouration.

Taxonomy[edit]


Synanthedon sp.


The fiery clearwing moth, Pyropteron chrysidiformis

References[edit]

  • Edwards, E.D., Gentili, P., Horak, M., Kristensen, N.P. and Nielsen, E.S. (1999). The cossoid/sesioid assemblage. Ch. 11, pp. 183–185 in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Band / Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta Teilband / Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorWikipedia
Sourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sesiidae&oldid=643925580
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith