Sesiidae  

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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

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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.

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Sourcehttp://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=19065&scientificName=Sesiidae

Fossil Record:

Fossil record:

No published fossil records.

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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

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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.
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Rights holder/AuthorWikipedia
Sourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sesiidae&oldid=643925580

Introduction:

Introduction:

Sesiids or clear-wing moths are small to medium-sized diurnal lepidopterans whose larvae are borers in living plant material. The family is worldwide in distribution but probably reaches its greatest species richness in the tropical regions of the globe. There are about 1370 described species assigned to 150 genera (Puhringer and Kallies 2009). The remarkable resemblance of adult sesiids to stinging Hymenoptera (bees and wasps) in appearance and behavior represents a classic example of Batesian mimicry (Duckworth and Eichlin 1974, Edwards et al. 1998). The wings are narrow and usually partially devoid of scales, and the abdomen often is striped with white, yellow, or orange bands and narrowed anteriorly, either by an actual constriction or by scaling to create the illusion of a constriction (Duckworth and Eichlin 1974). In some species the legs are modified to resemble those of the model (bee or wasp), in some groups with scale tufts tipped in yellow to simulate the pollen-gathering devices of certain bees (Duckworth and Eichlin 1974). Adult sesiids are observed infrequently in the wild, even though several feed on flowers. However, the synthesis of female pheromones beginning in the 1970s, led to a major breakthrough not only in the detection and monitoring of pest species, but also in the discovery of new species and the documentation of local faunas (Edwards et al. 1999). The larvae of sesiids are internal feeders, and host plants include many woody and herbaceous dicot families. According to Edwards et al. (1999), “most are trunk-, stem- or root-borers, but seed-boring has been reported from a few tropical [species of] Carmenta…” Almost all species have narrow host ranges, and several are serious pests of fruit trees, cultivated timber, and crop plants (Edwards et al. 1999).

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Rights holder/AuthorLeptree.net, Joaquin Baixeras, LepTree
Sourcehttp://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=19065&scientificName=Sesiidae

Diversity:

Diversity description:

Sesiids or clear-wing moths are small to medium-sized diurnal lepidopterans whose larvae are borers in living plant material. The family is worldwide in distribution but probably reaches its greatest species richness in the tropical regions of the globe. There are about 1370 described species assigned to 150 genera (Puhringer and Kallies 2009). The remarkable resemblance of adult sesiids to stinging Hymenoptera (bees and wasps) in appearance and behavior represents a classic example of Batesian mimicry (Duckworth and Eichlin 1974, Edwards et al. 1998). The wings are narrow and usually partially devoid of scales, and the abdomen often is striped with white, yellow, or orange bands and narrowed anteriorly, either by an actual constriction or by scaling to create the illusion of a constriction (Duckworth and Eichlin 1974). In some species the legs are modified to resemble those of the model (bee or wasp), in some groups with scale tufts tipped in yellow to simulate the pollen-gathering devices of certain bees (Duckworth and Eichlin 1974).  Adult sesiids are observed infrequently in the wild, even though several feed on flowers. However, the synthesis of female pheromones beginning in the 1970s, led to a major breakthrough not only in the detection and monitoring of pest species, but also in the discovery of new species and the documentation of local faunas (Edwards et al. 1999).  The larvae of sesiids are internal feeders, and host plants include many woody and herbaceous dicot families. According to Edwards et al. (1999), “most are trunk-, stem- or root-borers, but seed-boring has been reported from a few tropical [species of] Carmenta…” Almost all species have narrow host ranges, and several are serious pests of fruit trees, cultivated timber, and crop plants (Edwards et al. 1999).

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

Sesiidae (Clearwing Moths)
These are small- to medium-sized moths that resemble wasps. They have long dark bodies, often with fine yellow rings, and narrow wings. The forewings are black, dark gray, or transparent, while the hindwings are always transparent. Clearwing Moths fly during the day and visit flowers for nectar. They not only look like wasps, but sometimes act like them as well

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Rights holder/AuthorCopyright © 2002-2015 by Dr. John Hilty
Sourcehttp://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/flower_insects/files/lepidoptera.htm
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith