Actias felicis arianeae
Brechlin, 2007

Actias felicis arianeae male, HT, China, courtesy/copyright Ron Brechlin.

Actias ningpoana ningtaibaishana, QingYang, Shaanxi, China
courtesy of Philippe Brems, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke. Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Saturniini, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Genus: Actias, Leach, 1815

DISTRIBUTION:

Actias felicis arianeae (wingspan: males: mm; females: probably larger // Mfwl: 39-40mm; Ffwl: larger) flies in the Qin Ling Mountains, Fopin (1800m), Shaanxi Province, China.

Dr. Brechlin has published his description in "Entomofauna-Monographie 1",
editor (Thomas Witt).

Actias arianeae belongs in the Actias felicis group, comprised of the following species:

Actias felicis felicis, China: Jiangxi; Guangdong; Guangxi; Sichuan
Actias felicis arianeae, China: Shaanxi: Qin Ling Mountains, Fopin (1800m)
Actias uljanae, China: Hunan: Nanling Mountains
Actias chrisbrechlinae, China: Yunnan; Guangxi; 1950-2460m
Actias winbrechlini, China: northwestern Yunnan: Fengshuining Mountains (2460m), Yulong County; northern Myanmar = Burma: Kachin: Chudu Mountains (3000m)
Actias neidhoeferi, Taiwan; possibly eastern China
Actias kongjiaria, China: Sichuan: Gongga Shan; 2600-3200m
Actias rasa, China, Sichuan: Erlang Shan Mt; 2160m
Actias vanschaycki, China: Sichuan, southwest of Heishui; 3100m
Actias shaanxiana, China: Shaanxi: Tai Bai Shan Mountains; Daba Shan Mountains; 1500m.

With the exception of Actias felicis felicis, Actias chrisbrechlinae and Actias uljanae the moths in this group seem devoid of a forewing pm line, and are an almost uniform pale green, without yellow or pink in the hindwing tails.

The forewing pm line is thin and regularly dentate in the specimens mentioned above.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in April.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the posterior tip of the abdomen to call in night-flying males.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Larvae have been reared on Larix decidua, Picea, Pinus.

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.

Larix decidua ....... Picea Pinus

European Larch Spruce Pine

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