Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFSesiidae Members: Sannina Members: 6 NC Records

Sannina uroceriformis Walker, 1856 - Persimmon Borer Moth

Sannina uroceriformisSannina uroceriformis
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Sesioidea		 Family:
Sesiidae		Subfamily:
Sesiinae		Tribe:
Synanthedonini		P3 Number:
55a0132		 MONA Number:
2590.00
Comments: Of the 136 or more members of the Sesiidae that occur in North American north of Mexico, 37 have been recorded in North Carolina. Some sesiids, known broadly as clearwing borers, are significant pests of commercial crops. The great majority are mimics of wasps and hornets.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Eichlin and Duckworth (1988).                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is a large black and red clearwing moth that appears to mimic the spider wasp, Lophopompilus atrox. The collar is orange and the labial palp is black and intermixed with orange at the base of the second joint. The head, antenna, thorax, legs and abdomen are all bluish-black, with the latter boldly banded reddish-orange on segment 4 and often the anterior edge of segment 5 (Engelhardt, 1946; Brown and Mizell, 1993; Eichlin and Duckworth, 1988). Small reddish-orange markings are also on the head and the sides of the thorax. The forewing is entirely bluish-black, while the hindwing is similar except for a small transparent window at the base. The males have five prominent black, hair-pencils on the anal tufts, with one short pair and one long pair of lateral tufts, and one long dorsomesial tuft. The females are similar to the males, but have a short, rounded anal tuft with only a single pair of short, dorsolateral tufts. Florida and Georgia specimens are occasionally seen that lack the orange band.
Wingspan: Males and females are 28-32 mm (Engelhardt, 1946).
Forewing Length: 12-17 mm (Eichlin and Duckworth, 1988).
Adult Structural Features: Engelhardt (1946) and Eichlin and Duckworth (1988) have descriptions and illustrations of the male and female genitalia (also see below).
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The following life history account is from Solomon (1995) and Mizell (2006). The larvae are borers that feed on American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana). The adults emerge from March to July in the Gulf Coast region and mostly in June and July in the northern parts of the range. Emergence occurs in the morning and the adults mate within a few hours after emerging. Females either deposit their eggs on the lower trunks of trees or drop their eggs on the ground around the base of the trees. The hatchlings bore into the bark, usually at or near the root collar or slightly higher up, and the young larvae begin feeding and mining downward in the cambium. The galleries occasionally meander, but usually extend straight down. After reaching at or just below ground level, the larvae extend their tunnels into the wood, and sometimes to the center of both the lateral and tap roots. The galleries commonly extend down 20-25 cm, but can reach 43-56 cm in the taproots.

The larvae overwinter in their galleries below the soil line for one or more years and pupate during the spring. When ready to pupate, they extend their galleries upward to the ground line or just above, then chew through the bark and construct large, tubular, blackish frass tubes that angle upward and outward from the bark. The tubes are sealed at the end, are made from frass, chewed bark, and silk, and are 25-62 mm long. Pupation occurs in the galleries in the roots, and after about three weeks, the pupa works its way up through the frass tube and breaks through the end. The adult emerges shortly after the pupa emerges. The young larvae are dull or grayish white and later become almost white, except for a brown head and a light brown hardened cuticle area dorsally on the prothorax. The mature larvae can reach 24-30 mm in length. The pupae are light brown initially, but become darker with age. The life cycle in some areas may take two to three years to complete.

Solomon (1995) noted that the heaviest infestations occur in young trees 12-50 mm in diameter, but trees up to 20 cm at the root collar have been found to be moderately infested. Seedlings and sprouts growing on abandoned fields, roadsides, and ditch banks seem particularly susceptible to attack (Herrick, 1907), and seedlings and young trees in nurseries or young orchards may die after having their taproots tunneled out.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Sannina uroceriformis is endemic to the southeastern US where the range extends from eastern Texas eastward to Florida, and northward to Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey. This species is generally absent from the Appalachian region. As of 2024, we have records from both the Coast Plain and eastern Piedmont, with the only non-historical records from Orange and Wake counties.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Sannina uroceriformis
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: The adults typically fly from March through July in different areas of the range, with records also from January and February in Florida. As of 2024, our records are all from early to mid-June.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations are dependent on persimmons for reproduction, and are often associated with sites that have root sprouts or younger samplings and trees on site. Examples include abandoned fields, roadsides, ditch banks and fencerows.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are root borers in American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), which is the only known host (Herrick, 1907; Mizell, 2006). Heppner (2003) listed Japanese Persimmon (D. kaki), but these are commonly grafted onto American Persimmon rootstocks, so additional verification is need for this species. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are diurnally active and are occasionally seen resting on vegetation. The large, blackish, tubular structures ('cocoons') that extend upward and outward from the bark should be searched for during the spring and summer months.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Persimmon Copses
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2S3]
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 uncommon to rare in North Carolina, where the only known extant populations occur in Orange and Wake counties.

 Photo Gallery for Sannina uroceriformis - Persimmon Borer Moth

Photos: 2

Recorded by: Richard Teper on 2021-06-07
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: rjmcfisher on 2021-06-07
Orange Co.
Comment: https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/134920545 (CC BY-NC)