Scientific Notes 321 FIRST RECORD OF ALCATHOE CAROLINENSIS (LEPIDOPTERA: SESIIDAE) COLLECTED IN TENNESSEE JASON A. HANSEN1, WILLIAM E. KLINGEMAN2 AND JOHN K. MOULTON1 1Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 2Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 Known mostly from male specimens, Al- synonym of A. autumnalis Engelhardt, but cathoe carolinensis Engelhardt (Fig. 1) has been later the two were recognized as distinct spe- reported as rare, but is more likely to be infre- cies (Eichlin & Duckworth 1977; Eichlin & quently collected (Thomas D. Eichlin, Senior Duckworth 1988). When questioned about the Insect Biosystematist, retired, California De- lack of label data on the type specimen, Beuten- partment of Food and Agriculture, personal müller recalled collecting it on Clematis flowers communication), thus the full extent of its na- somewhere in “the Black Mountains of North tive range is poorly documented. Though most Carolina” (Engelhardt 1946). Engelhardt captures have been incidental and typically (1946) reported that subsequent visits to the consist of 1 to 3 specimens, only 2 studies have collecting site showed Beutenmüller’s plant reported captures of 10 or more males through identification to be inaccurate, though he did use of E,Z-3,13–ODDA and Z,Z-3,13–ODDA not clarify what the mistakenly identified plant blends (Reed et al. 1981; Snow et al. 1985). was. Morphological similarities between A. car- Based on other Alcathoe species host plant pref- olinensis and 2 species in the western U.S., A. erences, larval host plants are assumed to be pepsioides Engelhardt and A. autumnalis, also Clematis spp., though A. carolinensis remains cast some doubt on the capture of A. carolinen- the only North American member of its genus sis in a state so disjunct from other similar Al- not reared from any species or cultivar of Clem- cathoe populations (Engelhardt 1946, Eichlin & atis (Engelhardt 1925; Eichlin & Duckworth Duckworth 1977, 1988). Currently, A. carolin- 1988). Alcathoe carolinensis was once listed as a ensis specimens have been collected as far north as Indiana and south to Florida (Sharp et al. 1978; Reed et al. 1981). A lone male captured in Missouri extended the western boundary of its known range and is the most recent reported capture of this species (Brown 1986). In 2007, as part of an on-going survey of clear- wing moth presence in eastern Tennessee, a Mul- tipher-1 moth trap (Les Services BioContrôle, Ste.-Foy, Quebec) was baited with a commercial yellow-legged clearwing moth (Synanthedon vespiformis (L.)) lure (Great Lakes IPM, Vest- aburg, MI). This modified trap was placed just outside the boundaries of the Great Smoky Moun- tains National Park in Sevier Co., Tennessee. The trap was retrofitted with an ethanol collection chamber, thus preserving DNA for analyses and preventing damage to important morphological characters. Specimens were captured about 70 meters from a mountain stream in a wooded area on a western-facing slope approximately 600 meters above sea level. Several hemlock, pine, oak trees, and rhododendron shrubs had recently been removed from the site. The lure-baited trap was placed on the edge of this canopy opening, where a single male was collected between 29-VI and 5-VII-2007. In 2009, the same modified trap style was de- ployed with 2 viburnum borer (S. viburni Engel- Fig. 1. Adult male Alcathoe carolinenis Engelhardt, hardt) lures (Scentry Biologicals, Inc., Billings, illustrating the hyaline area at base of hind wing (h) Montana) along the wooded edge of a roadside park and caudal appendage (ca), which are characteristic of in Oak Ridge, Tennessee approximately 100 kilome- Alcathoe males. ters west of the original Norton Creek site and at 322 Florida Entomologist 93(2) June 2010 about 260 meters in elevation. Canopy mid- and mone-baited trap yields taken in 2007 and 2009 overstory consisted predominantly of oaks (Quercus from eastern Tennessee locations 100 kilometers sp.), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), bush honeysuckle apart and at different elevations. Traps were (Lonicera maackii), privet (Ligustrum sinense), tu- baited with a different pheromone combination lip poplar (Liriodendron tulipfera), sweetgum (Liq- than reported in other published accounts. Its uidambar styraciflua), and rusty blackhaw vibur- capture at 600 meters elevation in the Great num (V. rufidulum). The trap yielded 8 A. carolinen- Smoky Mountains adjacent to GSM National sis males between 10 and 20-VIII-2009. Identifica- Park boundaries marks the highest elevation at tion of the sesiid was verified by Thomas D. Eichlin. which A. carolinensis has been recorded and is Although Clematis species were not found within similar to the original type locality described by about 160 meters of deployed traps, several other Beutenmüller for North Carolina. vining forbs were found within 33 meters, including honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.), trumpet creeper (Camp- REFERENCES CITED sis radicans), greenbriar (Smilax sp.), grape (Vitis BROWN, L. N. 1985. New records of the rare clearwing sp.), and Carolina moonseed (Cocculus carolina). moth, Alcathoe carolinensis Engelhardt, (Sesiidae) In Tennessee, A. carolinensis responded to lures in Florida. Florida Entomol. 68(4): 700-701. which attract S. viburni and S. vespiformis, both BROWN, L. N. 1986. First record of the rare clearwing known to be drawn to Z,Z-3,13-octadecadienyl ac- moth, Alcathoe carolinensis Engelhardt (Lepi- etate (ODDA)/E,Z-3,13-octadecadienyl acetate at a doptera: Sesiidae) west of the Mississippi river. J. ratio of 9:1 (Greenfield & Karandinos 1979; Voer- Kansas Entomol. Soc. 59(3): 560. man et al. 1983). The commercial lures used were CRABTREE, T. 2008. Tennessee Natural Heritage Pro- confirmed by vendors as containing the same ratio gram Rare Plant List. Tennessee Department of En- vironment and Conservation, Division of Natural of isomers reported in the literature. With the ex- Areas. 46 p. ception of a solitary account in which E,Z-3,13– DUCKWORTH, W. D., AND EICHLIN, T. D. 1977. A Classi- ODDA alone was used, previous A. carolinensis fication of the Sesiidae of America North of Mexico captures were accomplished with a 50:50 or 75:25 (Lepidoptera: Sesioidea). California Department of blend of the 2 previously mentioned isomers (Reed Food and Agriculture, Occasional Papers in Ento- et al. 1981; Snow et al. 1985; Sharp et al. 1978; mol. 2: 1-54. Brown 1985, 1986). Regardless of the exact isomer EICHLIN, T. D., AND DUCKWORTH, W. D. 1988. The moths blend used, we expect A. carolinensis will continue of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 5.1, Sesioidea, to be infrequently collected until larval host plant Sesiidae. The Wedge Entomol. Res. Foundation, Washington, D.C., 176 p., illustr. resources are identified and trapping is focused ENGELHARDT, G. P. 1925. Studies of North American Ae- around habitats containing key plant species. geriidae (Lepidoptera). Bull. Brooklyn Entomol. Soc. Although larvae of other Alcathoe species rely on 20(4): 153-158. Clematis plants for development, no specimens of ENGELHARDT, G. P. 1946. The North American clear- the plant genus were found at the Oak Ridge, Ten- wing moths of the family Aegeriidae. Smithsonian nessee location. A less common species, C. glauco- Institute, U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 190, 222 p. phylla, is listed on Tennessee’s rare plant list as en- ESTES, D. 2006. A new narrowly endemic species of dangered (Crabtree 2008) and is reported from Clematis (Ranunculaceae: Subgenus Viorna from North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and eastern Ten- northeastern Texas. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas. 22(1): 65-77. nessee. However, older reports of this clematis spe- GREENFIELD, M. D., AND KARANDINOS, M. G. 1979. Re- cies may have confused it with closely-related C. source partitioning of the sex communication chan- viorna, thus the range of C. glaucophylla may be nel in clearwing moths (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) of more restricted than is reported (Estes 2006). Wisconsin. Ecol. Monographs. 49: 403-426. Because many ornamental Clematis species are REED, D. K., EICHLIN, T. D., AND REED, G. L. 1981. Ef- economically important and popular landscape fectiveness of blends of synthetic sex attractants and specimens, further efforts to find larvae and rear comparison with virgin female lesser peachtree bor- adults from Clematis species are warranted. En- ers as bait for capture of Sesiidae. Environ. Entomol. gelhardt (1925) noted use of horticultural Clematis 10: 488-491. SHARP, J. L., MCLAUGHLIN, J. R., JAMES, J., EICHLIN, T. varieties by A. caudata (Harris), but mentioned no D., AND TUMLINSON, J. H. 1978. Seasonal occurrence specific varieties. We caution that at least 1 native of male Sesiidae in north central Florida determined Clematis species, C. glaucophylla is endangered in with pheromone trapping methods. Florida Ento- Tennessee, thus care should be taken to assess any mol. 61(4): 245-250. protected status this plant may have when sam- SNOW, J. W., EICHLIN, T. D., AND TUMLINSON, J. H. pling plants to confirm A. carolinensis presence 1985. Seasonal captures of clearwing moths (Sesiidae) from other localities in the state. in traps baited with various formulations of 3, 13-Octa- decadienyl acetate and alcohol. J. Agr. Entomol. 2: 73- 84. SUMMARY VOERMAN, S., AUDEMARD, H. AND PRIESNER, E. 1983. Sex attractants for clearwing moths: Synanthedon The first captures of Alcathoe carolinensis En- vespiformis and Chamaesphecia tenthrediniformis gelhardt in Tennessee are reported from phero- (and/or C. empiformis). Ent. Exp. Appl. 34: 203-205..