Squash Vine Borer
Eichlinia cucurbitae
This record describes Eichlinia cucurbitae (species). Recorded family: Sesiidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
The squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae) is a diurnal species of sesiid moth. The moth is often mistaken for a bee or wasp because of its movements, and the bright orange hind leg scales. The females typically lay their eggs at the base of leaf stalks, and the caterpillars develop and feed inside the stalk, eventually killing the leaf. They soon migrate to the main stem, and with enough feeding damage to the stem, the entire...
Wikipedia reference for Eichlinia cucurbitae: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squash_vine_borer.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Sesioidea
- Family
- Sesiidae (Clearwing Moths)
- Subfamily
- Sesiinae
- Tribe
- Melittiini
- Genus
- Eichlinia
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Eichlinia cucurbitae. Species-specific details appear above.
Group overview
Lepidoptera includes approximately 180,000 described species of butterflies and moths. Moths outnumber butterflies roughly 10:1. The monarch butterfly's eastern population has declined by more than 80% since the mid-1990s, and the western population by over 95% since the 1980s. The IUCN lists the migratory monarch as Vulnerable.
Ecological role of the group
Butterflies and moths are essential indicators of ecosystem health. As caterpillars, they are a primary food source for birds - a single nest of blue tit chicks requires ~10,000 caterpillars. Adult moths pollinate many night-blooming plants.
Economic and practical significance of the group
Lepidoptera are critical pollinators. In Europe, grassland butterfly species have declined by almost 50% since the early 1990s. In the UK, three-quarters of butterflies are in decline. In the U.S., five butterfly species have gone extinct since 1950, with 29 listed as endangered.
Recorded sources for this group: IUCN Red List, Xerces Society, USFWS, PNAS, WWF. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.
