Flower-visiting clearwing moths in the Oki Islands, Japan

Abstract

Adult clearwing moths (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) are diurnal lepidopterans. Although many studies have investigated the flower-visiting behaviour of diurnal lepidopterans such as butterflies, few studies have reported the relationships between clearwing moths and flowers. In this study, we report the flower-visiting behaviour of three clearwing moth species in the Oki Islands in central Japan. On the island Nakanoshima, Glossosphecia romanovi (Leech) and Macroscelesia japona (Hampson) were observed visiting flowers of Ligustrum lucidum Aiton (Oleaceae) in early July 2018. On Nishinoshima, G. romanovi and Synanthedon unocingulata Bartel were observed visiting flowers of Kalopanax septemlobus (Thunb.) Koidz. (Araliaceae) in the same season. Although Ma. japona has been previously reported to visit the flowers of other plant species, to our knowledge, this is the first report of the flower-visiting behaviour of G. romanovi and Sy. unocingulata. This is also the first record of G. romanovi and Sy. unocingulata on the Oki Islands.