Ichneumenoptera chrysophanes (Meyrick, 1886)
(previously known as : Carmenta chrysophanes)
Clearwing Persimmon Borer
 SESIINAE ,   SESIIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley


female
(Photo: courtesy of Jeremy Barker, taken in Palmwoods, Queensland)

These Caterpillars are a pest because they eat the bark of

  • Persimmon trees ( Diospyros kaki, EBENACEAE ).

    They have also been caught in :

  • the bark of Red Ash ( Alphitonia excelsa, RHAMNACEAE ),
  • the bark of Gum Trees ( Eucalyptus, MYRTACEAE ),
  • the branches of Fig ( Ficus, MORACEAE ),
  • galls on Native Cherry ( Exocarpus cupressiformis, SANTALACEAE ).


    male
    (Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Entomology)

    The adults of this species are dimorphic. The abdomen of the male is black sparsely covered in yellow hairs, and there is a large tuft of dark brown hairs on the tip of the abdomen. The abdomen of the female is yellow with a yellow anal tuft. The wings of both sexes have large transparent areas, and gold wingtips.

    The species has been found in

  • Queensland, and
  • Victoria.

    Further reading :

    W. Donald Duckworth & Thomas D. Eichlin,
    Clearwing Moths of Australia and New Zealand (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology: Number180, Smithsonion Institution Press, City of Washington (1974) pp.11,28,29.

    Richard A. Vickers & Eric R. Rumbo, Sex pheromone components of the clearwing borer, Carmenta chrysophanes (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae): Provisional identification and field tests, Australian Journal of Entomology, Volume 40, part 1 (February 2001), pp. 68-73.

    Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
    A Guide to Australian Moths, CSIRO Publishing, 2007, pp. 107, 108.

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    (updated 24 November 2011)