Trapping with ultraviolet light in mixed-oak forests of Lawrence and Vinton Counties, Ohio in 1995 and 1996 yielded 46 Synanthedon acerni and four Synanthedon arkansasensis, a clearwing moth record new for the state

Horn, David J

Purrington, Foster Forbes

English

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 29 
Number 4 - Summer 1996 Number 4 - Summer 
1996 
Article 3 
December 1996 
Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps in Southern 
Ohio (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) 
Foster Forbes Purrington 
Ohio State University 
David J. Horn 
Ohio State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Purrington, Foster Forbes and Horn, David J. 1996. "Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps 
in Southern Ohio (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae)," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 29 (4) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol29/iss4/3 
This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. 
For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST1996 191 
CLEARWII\JG MOTHS CAPTURED BY UrrRAVIOLET LIGHT TRAPS IN 

SOUTHERN 
OHIO 
(LEPIDOPTERA: SESIIDAE) 

Foster Forbes Purrington and David J. Horn 1 
ABSTRACT 
Trapping with ultraviolet light in mixed-oak forests of Lawrence and Vin­
ton Counties, Ohio in 1995 and 1996 yielded 46 Synanthedon acerni nd four 
Synanthedon arkansasensis, a clearwing moth record new for the state. 
Clearwing 
moths (Sesiidae) 
are a well-defined family of itrys an Mi­
crolepidoptera. Adults are diurnally active and typically marked with boldly 
contrasting white, yellow, orange and/or red maculations on a glossy jet black 
or dark 
brown ground color. Larger endemic species 
in eastern North Amer­
ica, for example those in Podosesia and Vitacea, are structural mimics of 
Polistes wasps (Hymenoptera); others, like Paranthrene simulans (Grote), 
closely mimic the yellow-black Vespula wasp queens morphologically and be­
haviorally. Smaller clearwing species are more-or-Iess mimetic of smaller 
solitary wasps. Larvae bore in hving crowns and roots of many herbaceous 
plants and in 
various 
parts ofliving woody plants. 
The nearly 
uniform 
diurnal activity patterns of sesiid adults evidently 
large 
eclude 
nighttime responses to ultraviolet light. Here we report 
blac trap captures of two clearwing moth species in southern Ohio, one 
of them a new state record, during ongoing research on fire impacts in n oak 
forest ecosystem. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
In 
1995 we established six automatic blacklight 
trap stations in Vinton 
Co., Ohio in two sites within the Vinton Furnace Experimental Forest n ar 
Dundas. The forest is upland mixed-oak about 60 years old, managed jointly 
by Mead Paper Co. and the U.S. Forest Service. Concurrently, on two Wayne 
National Forest mixed-oak sites in Lawrence Co. n ar Blackfork and Kitts 
Hill, respectively, we established three automatic blacklight trap stations 
each. At all 12 stations in both counties the trap  were operated automati­
cally by preset timers from dusk to dawn one night weekly during the field 
season, from May to September in Vinton Co. and to July in Lawrence Co. 
In 
April 1996 
an experimental prescribed burning protocol was carried 
out 
on two 
of three test plots at all four sites; blacklight trapping resumed 
shortly after the fires and ended in October. 
Our 
blacklight 
traps used 20-liter (5-gallon) plastic pails beneath 30 cm. 
IDepartment ofEntomology, The Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Avenue, Colum­
bus, OH 43210-1220. 
1
Purrington and Horn: Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps in Southern O
Published by ValpoScholar, 1996
192 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 29, No.4 
long ultraviolet fluorescent lamps powered by 12-volt rechargeable sealed 
batteries. Insects entering the trap via a funnel were killed by ethyl acetate 
fumes. Traps were hung with their lamps positioned about 1.5 m above 
ground, from tree limbs near the crests of ridges. 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
Since the characterization and synthesis of potent sex attractants for 
Sesiidae in the 1970s (Tumlinson et al. 1974) the collection ra e of distribu­
tional data has increased, known geographical range for many species has 
been expanded and several new species have been discovered with synthetic 
sex attractants (Nielsen et al. 1975, Duckworth and Eichlin 1977, Eichlin 
and 
Taft 1988). A decade ago 
the reported clearwing moth fauna of Ohio 
(Purrington and Metzler 1987) contained about 30 species. 
. While most dearwings are never responsive to ultraviolet light, the 
Maple Callus Borer, Synanthedon acerni (Clemens), is occasionally taken 
during dark 
hours 
by this method (Engelhardt 1946). We captured 46 a ults 
of both 
sexes 
of this species at all sites in both counties i  1995 and 1996 
(data 
analysis for 1996 is 
80% complete). 
On 
3 
July 1996 we captured a single female Synanthedon arkansasensis 
Duckworth and Eichlin at Blackfork, Lawrence Co., the first record of this 
species from Ohio. Subsequently we obtained nother female and le at 
this site in 
July, 
and in August a female at the Kitts Hill site in Lawrence Co. 
Eichlin and Duckworth (1988) reported its range from Kansas, Oklahoma, 
Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi, eastward along the Gulf 
coast to n rthern Florida and Georgia, and north along the Atlantic coast to 
New Jersey. They reported many adults were taken at blacklights. The host 
plant ofS. arkansasensis and other biological details remain unknown (Eich­
lin and 
Duckworth 1988). 
[Note added 
in proof: one adult s. arkansasensis was taken 28-Vll-95 by 
Rawlins, Davidson a d Young (Carnegie Museum) in West Virginia, Monroe 
County: Sweet Springs. This is a new record for West Virginia]. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
We thank 
Thomas 
D. Eichlin, Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, California 
Department of 
Food 
and Agriculture, Sacramento for confirming the identity 
of Synanthedon arkansasensis. John W. Peacock developed the automatic 
blacklight trap. Assiduous field support was provided by Pete Kovarik, Bill 
Raby, Chris Ranger, Adrienne Smith and Chris Stanton. Fund ng was pro­
vided by the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment station. 
Voucher specimens are kept in the authors' collections at Ohi  State Univer­
sity. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Duckworth, W.D. and T.D. Eichlin. 1977. Two new species of clearwing moths (Sesi­
idae) from eastern North America clarified by sex pheromones. J. Lepidop. Soc. 
31:191-196. 
Eichlin, T.D. and W.D. Duckworth. 1988. Sesioidea: Sesiidae; n R.B. Dominick et al., 
The Moths of America North of Mexico, fasc. 5.1. 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 29, No. 4 [1996], Art. 3
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol29/iss4/3
1996 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 193 
Eichlin, T.D. and W.H. Taft. 1988. A new Sesia clearwing moth from Michigan (Sesi­
idae). J. Lepidop. Soc. 42:231-235. 
Engelhardt, 
G.P. 1946. 
The North American clear-wing moths of the family Aegeriidae. 
U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 190; 222 p. 
Nielsen, D.G., F.F. Purrington, J.H. Tumlinson, RE. Doolittle and C.E. Yonce. 1975. 
Response of male clearwing moths to caged virgin females, female extracts, and syn­
thetic 
sex 
attractants. Environ. Entomol. 4:451-454. 
Purrington, 
F.F. 
and E.H. Metzler. 1987. Checklist of Ohio moths IV: Lepidoptera: Sesi­
idae. Ohio Lepidop. 9(4):48. 
Tumlinson, J.H., C.E. Yonce, RE. Doolittle, RR Heath, C.R Gentry and E.R Mitchell. 
1974. Sex pheromones and r productive isolation of the le ser peachtree borer and 
the peachtree 
borer. Science 185:614-616. 
3
Purrington and Horn: Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps in Southern O
Published by ValpoScholar, 1996


Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps in Southern Ohio (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae)

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 29 Number 4 - Summer 1996 Number 4 - Summer 1996 Article 3 December 1996 Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps in Southern Ohio (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) Foster Forbes Purrington Ohio State University David J. Horn Ohio State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Purrington, Foster Forbes and Horn, David J. 1996. "Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps in Southern Ohio (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae)," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 29 (4) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol29/iss4/3 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST1996 191 CLEARWII\JG MOTHS CAPTURED BY UrrRAVIOLET LIGHT TRAPS IN SOUTHERN OHIO (LEPIDOPTERA: SESIIDAE) Foster Forbes Purrington and David J. Horn 1 ABSTRACT Trapping with ultraviolet light in mixed-oak forests of Lawrence and Vin­ton Counties, Ohio in 1995 and 1996 yielded 46 Synanthedon acerni nd four Synanthedon arkansasensis, a clearwing moth record new for the state. Clearwing moths (Sesiidae) are a well-defined family of itrys an Mi­crolepidoptera. Adults are diurnally active and typically marked with boldly contrasting white, yellow, orange and/or red maculations on a glossy jet black or dark brown ground color. Larger endemic species in eastern North Amer­ica, for example those in Podosesia and Vitacea, are structural mimics of Polistes wasps (Hymenoptera); others, like Paranthrene simulans (Grote), closely mimic the yellow-black Vespula wasp queens morphologically and be­haviorally. Smaller clearwing species are more-or-Iess mimetic of smaller solitary wasps. Larvae bore in hving crowns and roots of many herbaceous plants and in various parts ofliving woody plants. The nearly uniform diurnal activity patterns of sesiid adults evidently large eclude nighttime responses to ultraviolet light. Here we report blac trap captures of two clearwing moth species in southern Ohio, one of them a new state record, during ongoing research on fire impacts in n oak forest ecosystem. MATERIALS AND METHODS In 1995 we established six automatic blacklight trap stations in Vinton Co., Ohio in two sites within the Vinton Furnace Experimental Forest n ar Dundas. The forest is upland mixed-oak about 60 years old, managed jointly by Mead Paper Co. and the U.S. Forest Service. Concurrently, on two Wayne National Forest mixed-oak sites in Lawrence Co. n ar Blackfork and Kitts Hill, respectively, we established three automatic blacklight trap stations each. At all 12 stations in both counties the trap  were operated automati­cally by preset timers from dusk to dawn one night weekly during the field season, from May to September in Vinton Co. and to July in Lawrence Co. In April 1996 an experimental prescribed burning protocol was carried out on two of three test plots at all four sites; blacklight trapping resumed shortly after the fires and ended in October. Our blacklight traps used 20-liter (5-gallon) plastic pails beneath 30 cm. IDepartment ofEntomology, The Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Avenue, Colum­bus, OH 43210-1220. 1Purrington and Horn: Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps in Southern OPublished by ValpoScholar, 1996192 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 29, No.4 long ultraviolet fluorescent lamps powered by 12-volt rechargeable sealed batteries. Insects entering the trap via a funnel were killed by ethyl acetate fumes. Traps were hung with their lamps positioned about 1.5 m above ground, from tree limbs near the crests of ridges. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Since the characterization and synthesis of potent sex attractants for Sesiidae in the 1970s (Tumlinson et al. 1974) the collection ra e of distribu­tional data has increased, known geographical range for many species has been expanded and several new species have been discovered with synthetic sex attractants (Nielsen et al. 1975, Duckworth and Eichlin 1977, Eichlin and Taft 1988). A decade ago the reported clearwing moth fauna of Ohio (Purrington and Metzler 1987) contained about 30 species. . While most dearwings are never responsive to ultraviolet light, the Maple Callus Borer, Synanthedon acerni (Clemens), is occasionally taken during dark hours by this method (Engelhardt 1946). We captured 46 a ults of both sexes of this species at all sites in both counties i  1995 and 1996 (data analysis for 1996 is 80% complete). On 3 July 1996 we captured a single female Synanthedon arkansasensis Duckworth and Eichlin at Blackfork, Lawrence Co., the first record of this species from Ohio. Subsequently we obtained nother female and le at this site in July, and in August a female at the Kitts Hill site in Lawrence Co. Eichlin and Duckworth (1988) reported its range from Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi, eastward along the Gulf coast to n rthern Florida and Georgia, and north along the Atlantic coast to New Jersey. They reported many adults were taken at blacklights. The host plant ofS. arkansasensis and other biological details remain unknown (Eich­lin and Duckworth 1988). [Note added in proof: one adult s. arkansasensis was taken 28-Vll-95 by Rawlins, Davidson a d Young (Carnegie Museum) in West Virginia, Monroe County: Sweet Springs. This is a new record for West Virginia]. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Thomas D. Eichlin, Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento for confirming the identity of Synanthedon arkansasensis. John W. Peacock developed the automatic blacklight trap. Assiduous field support was provided by Pete Kovarik, Bill Raby, Chris Ranger, Adrienne Smith and Chris Stanton. Fund ng was pro­vided by the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment station. Voucher specimens are kept in the authors' collections at Ohi  State Univer­sity. LITERATURE CITED Duckworth, W.D. and T.D. Eichlin. 1977. Two new species of clearwing moths (Sesi­idae) from eastern North America clarified by sex pheromones. J. Lepidop. Soc. 31:191-196. Eichlin, T.D. and W.D. Duckworth. 1988. Sesioidea: Sesiidae; n R.B. Dominick et al., The Moths of America North of Mexico, fasc. 5.1. 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 29, No. 4 [1996], Art. 3https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol29/iss4/31996 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 193 Eichlin, T.D. and W.H. Taft. 1988. A new Sesia clearwing moth from Michigan (Sesi­idae). J. Lepidop. Soc. 42:231-235. Engelhardt, G.P. 1946. The North American clear-wing moths of the family Aegeriidae. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 190; 222 p. Nielsen, D.G., F.F. Purrington, J.H. Tumlinson, RE. Doolittle and C.E. Yonce. 1975. Response of male clearwing moths to caged virgin females, female extracts, and syn­thetic sex attractants. Environ. Entomol. 4:451-454. Purrington, F.F. and E.H. Metzler. 1987. Checklist of Ohio moths IV: Lepidoptera: Sesi­idae. Ohio Lepidop. 9(4):48. Tumlinson, J.H., C.E. Yonce, RE. Doolittle, RR Heath, C.R Gentry and E.R Mitchell. 1974. Sex pheromones and r productive isolation of the le ser peachtree borer and the peachtree borer. Science 185:614-616. 3Purrington and Horn: Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps in Southern OPublished by ValpoScholar, 1996

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1917&context=tgle

Clearwing Moths Captured by Ultraviolet Light Traps in Southern Ohio (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae)

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