DISTRIBUTION:

Coscinocera misoolensis (wingspan: males: 165-195mm; females: mm // mfwl: 91-110mm ; ffwl: ) flies on Misool Island, West Papua, Indonesia.

"C. misoolensis can easily be separated from all other known Coscinocera taxa by its combination of pattern elements, such as small Fw. and Hw. ocellus, straight postmedian Fw. line, and details in ? genitalia. It is zoogeographically well separated, even from the representative on the next nearby island, Obi, C. jakli Naumann, 2009, which is more colourful, has a bent Fw. postmedian line and larger ocelli. The more recently described C. aruensis Naumann & Löffler, 2010 from Aru Island cannot be mixed up with the taxon described here due to its larger size, bent postmedian line, details in ? genitalia, and by zoogeographic reasons."

The new taxon misoolensis is named after its origin on Misool Island in the Raja Ampat Archipelago, West Papua, Indonesia.

Coscinocera misoolensis HT male (verso), Misool Island, West Papua, Indonesia,
165mm, March 2016, courtesy of Stefan Naumann.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in February and March.

ECLOSION:

Moths wiggle their way out of double-walled cocoons and then hang to inflate their wings.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Females call in males by emitting pheromones. The males tend to be slightly smaller than the females, but have more vibrant colouration and longer "tails".

Coscinocera misoolensis AT female, Misool Island, West Papua, Indonesia,
182mm, March 2016, courtesy of Stefan Naumann.

Coscinocera misoolensis AT female (verso), Misool Island, West Papua, Indonesia,
182mm, March 2016, courtesy of Stefan Naumann.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

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