Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFSesiidae Members: Synanthedon Members: 3 NC Records

Synanthedon acerrubri Engelhardt, 1925 - Maple Clearwing

Synanthedon acerrubriSynanthedon acerrubri
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Sesioidea		 Family:
Sesiidae		Subfamily:
Sesiinae		Tribe:
Synanthedonini		P3 Number:
55a0087		 MONA Number:
2546.00
Comments: North America has 136 or more species in the family Sesiidae, and the large genus Synanthedon constitutes around half of the 37 species found in North Carolina, many being similar in appearance to one another. Some sesiids, known broadly as clearwing borers, are significant pests of commercial crops. Almost all are mimics of wasps and hornets.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Eichlin and Duckworth (1988)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Synanthedon acerrubri is best identified by a combination of characters that include an orangish labial palp, a reddish anal tuft, a black vertex with a few yellowish-orange scales posteriorly, and the absence of yellowish coloration between the veins on the apical third of the wing. The following description of the males is mostly from that of Eichlin and Duckworth (1988).

The antenna is black with a whitish tinge before the tip. The head has a brownish-black vertex with a few yellowish-orange scales posteriorly, and a white lateral line in front of the eye. The occipital fringe is orange, and the labial palp is orange with a black tip. The abdomen is brownish-black above with very narrow pale-yellow bands on the posterior edge of segments 2, 4, 6 and 7, and with the posterior two segments tending towards pale orange. The sides are mostly yellow except for segment 3 that is black, and the anal tuft is orangish-red with brownish-black on the basal half. The legs are shaded with diffuse regions of alternating pale yellow and blackish scales. The forewing is mostly hyaline, has a large blackish discal spot, and margins that are powdered with blackish scales. The hindwing is also hyaline with very narrow margins. The females differ by having a more robust abdomen that is often powdered with pale yellow dorsally on the posterior segments, an anal tuft that is entirely orangish-red, and an antenna with a contrasting whitish zone below the tip. The pale-yellow bands are only present on segments 2, 4, and 6.

This species is most easily confused with S. acerni, but the latter has an orangish vertex and extensive yellow shading between the veins in the apical region (often reduced on worn specimens).
Wingspan: 16-18 mm for males and 18-22 mm for females (Engelhardt, 1946).
Forewing Length: 6-10 mm (Eichlin and Duckworth, 1988).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae feed on maples and bore under the bark. The following life history account is based on that of Engelhardt (1946), who observed this species in New York. Females most commonly lay their eggs on the branches of maples and often where the stems have been injured or scarred by cerambycid and buprestid beetles. The larvae enter the stems and bore beneath the bark, which can cause a slight swelling or roughening on the branch. The larvae feed during the warmer months, then overwintering in their burrow. They resume feeding in the spring before pupating within an oblong cocoon that is composed if silk, fecal castings and wood chips. The cocoon is constructed in a cell just under the bark, and has a thin, circular region that allows the pupa and adult to emergence during late-May and June. Adamski (1984) observed females ovipositing on Boxelder in Missouri. They preferred distressed trees over healthy ones and rested and laid most of their eggs on the tree trunk within 30 cm of the ground. They were most active during mid- to late-afternoon hours.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Synanthedon acerrubri is endemic to eastern North America. The range includes portions of southern Canada (Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; Nova Scotia) and much of the eastern US from Maine and other New England states southwestward to western North Carolina, northern Georgia and northern Alabama, and westward to eastern Texas, Arkansas, central Oklahoma, Illinois, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota. Populations appear to be absent from most of the southeastern Coastal Plain. As of 2024, we have only two site records, one from a lower-elevation site in the Blue Ridge and the second from the coast.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Synanthedon acerrubriAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Flight Comments: The adults have been observed from April through August in different areas of the range. Our sparse records as of 2024 are from May and early-July.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations are found in residential developments and in hardwood or mixed hardwood-conifer forests with maples.
Larval Host Plants: The larvae specialize on maples, including both native and ornamental forms (Engelhardt, 1946; Eichlin and Duckworth, 1989; Solomon, 1995; Heppner, 2007). The reported host include Boxelder (Acer negundo), Red Maple (A. rubrum), Silver Maple (A. saccharinum) and Sugar Maple (A. saccharum). - View
Observation Methods: The adults are diurnally active and are often seen resting on vegetation or nectaring on flowers. They occasionally show up at lights during the early evening hours, and the males are attracted to pheromone traps.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S1S2]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species appears to be rare in North Carolina and as of 2024 is only known from two sites in the state.

 Photo Gallery for Synanthedon acerrubri - Maple Clearwing

Photos: 2
Synanthedon acerrubriRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-07-04
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Synanthedon acerrubriRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-07-04
Madison Co.
Comment: