United States
£ GBP
Language: English
The Sesiidae (Lepidoptera) of Poland presents an exhaustive review of clearwing moths (Sesiidae) of Poland. Thirty-two species are examined in detail. Although the number of species hitherto confirmed in Poland is only 31, Chamaesphecia annellata, as one of the erroneously recorded species, is also redescribed.
Adults of all the species, their genitalia, pupae, and larvae of 27 species are described and comparatively illustrated with drawings, photographs and scanning electron micrographs. Keys based on morphology of adults and their genitalia as well as keys to the pupae are included. Additionally, a key to larvae of 27 species is presented for the first time.
Descriptions of larval stages of 14 species are presented for the first time, their setal maps are also provided. The number and arrangement of crochets on the larval prolegs were studied in detail, and were found to be of taxonomic significance. The results of the studies demonstrate that the division of crochets into anterior and posterior bands can differ significantly, and that the number of crochets in the anterior bands is usually higher than that in the posterior bands. Measurements of eggs of 31 species and egg morphology of selected species are given.
Many new observations on various aspects of biology of clearwing moths are provided. Information on the overall and temporal effectiveness of male attractants are given. In addition to morphological and biological aspects, The Sesiidae (Lepidoptera) of Poland analyses faunistic data and includes a synthesis of more than 20-year long investigation of this family of moths in different parts of Poland. Distribution records in Poland are shown on maps based on the UTM-grid system, they contain both literature information and unpublished data, new records are given for 26 species of Sesiidae.
Molecular (COI) data of Synanthedon spuleri and closely related species indicate that S. spuleri is more closely related to S. cephiformis than S. tipuliformis. The latest taxonomical changes, such as the proposal to include Sesiidae in the superfamily Cossoidea, are discussed.
"This book brings a complex revision of the clearwing moths (Sesiidae) of Poland. It is a comprehensive treatment of this family for the territory of Poland which comprises 31 species (of the about 110 species known in Europe). The text is supplemented by 36 text figures and 109 plates of adults and preadult stages. The general contribution of the work and its relevant results are clearly summarised in the abstract. [...] The publication is an example of a perfectly prepared monograph which is not only a precise summary of the published data, but it is mainly based on the author’s 20 years of research. It provides new knowledge concerning the morphology of adults and preadult stages and the phylogeny, biology and distribution of clearwing species. Thus the work constitutes an important source of information for further studies of this family in Poland and elsewhere in Europe."
- Zdeněk Laštůvka, Nota Lepidopterologica 36(2)
