Unknown moth?
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
January 31, 2011 9:29 am
The two different species or male and female of the same species were taken in late January in our dry season at 800 meters. They were photographed at the same small pool on consecutive days at around 1 pm. The pool was formed by a depression in granite rock about 10 feet from a larger pool fed by a small waterfall. The area around is wooded but this spot is in a 75 foot clearing due to rock. I’ve looked everywhere on the web and nothing is even close. I’m guessing Arctiinae. Any suggestions?
Signature: Dave Hutchison
Dear Dave,
Though there is a group of Arctiids that mimic wasps, there is another family, Sesiidae, that are also wasp mimics, though the family is collectively known as Clearwings. There are many species in this family that exhibit marked sexual dimorphism, so much so that males and females look like different species. Many Sesiids have larvae that are borers in the stems and roots of woody plants. You can see many examples of North American Sesiids on BugGuide.
We are going to do a quick search of the internet to see if we have any luck with this species, but we have a time constraint this morning as we will be closing the offices and not responding to any additional letters while we are at our day job.
