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Posted by Vince Lucas on 16:57:47 09/27/08
Eric Gehring, in a few posts back, talked about finding and photographing the endangered Okeechobee Gourd (Cucurbita okeechobeensis okeechobeensis Small). I've yet to see one of these rare plants, especially in fruit. Eric has kindly allowed permission to post the photos. I have also posted a question to the LEPS-L listserv regarding this plant and a possible connection between it and one of the clearwing (wasp mimic) moths in the family Sesiidae that may be of interest to some folks. Let me know your feelings on this matter. Here's my post with links to Eric's photos:
I live in SW Florida. Nearby Lake Okeechobee (the largest lake in Florida) has an endemic, endangered gourd named after it, the Okeechobee Gourd (Cucurbita okeechobeensis okeechobeensis Small). This gourd has only two known locations in the world, on the southern edge of Lake Okeechobee and one in Volusia County, Florida along the St. Johns River per the USFWS. Recently, a friend, Eric Gehring of the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation (www.ArtMarshall.org), photographed a couple of these gourds for me since he has a boat and is able to get to the location which is otherwise inaccessible. You can see the photos here:
http://www.caloosabirdclub.org/VPL/okeegourd1.jpg
and
http://www.caloosabirdclub.org/VPL/okeegourd2.jpg
Copyright belongs to Eric Gehring and may not be reproduced without express permission by him. Notice that the Okeechobee Gourds are hanging from a Pond Apple (Annona glabra -- Family: Annonaceae) which is now in standing water due to the high levels of the lake brought on by our summer tropical storms. Since the Okeechobee Gourd is a member of the Cucurbitaceae Cucumber family, is there any possibility that any of the clearwing moths of the family Sesiidae utilize it as a larval host? There are six members of genus Melittia in North America that utilize the Cucurbitaceae as larval foodplants per Eichlin, T.D. and W.D. Duckworth, 1988. Sesiodea: Sesiidae in Dominick, R.B., et al., The Moths Of America North Of Mexico, fasc. 5.1. The larvae bore into the vines of the plants as most of you know. Does anyone know if anyone has ever studied the Sesiidae in relation to the Okeechobee Gourd? This would probably make for a good PH.D thesis! Any thoughts on this matter?
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