DISTRIBUTION:

Rhodinia fugax (forewing length: males: 20.65mm; females: 27.75mm; wingspan: males: 44-47mm; females: 55-58mm) flies in Japan, probably as Rhodinia fugax fugax in southern parts of Japan (Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu), as Rhodinia fugax diana in northern parts of Japan ((Hokkaido), and as various subspecies in China, North Korea, South Korea and Primorye.

Rhodinia fugax fugax male, by of Kenichiro Nakao.

Visit Rhodinia fugax, male and female and larvae, Japan, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

R. fugax diana (wingspan: males: 40-43mm; females: 45-52mm) is slightly smaller than the nominate subspecies. R. f. diana can be found in northern Japan: Hokkaido; eastern Siberia; Russia; northern China; Korea.

R. f. szechuanensis (wingspan: males: 49.5-59.6mm; females: 55-63mm) can be found in China: Sichuan, eastern Yunnan, western Guangxi and western Ghizhou.

R. f. szechuanensis (wingspan: males: 42-45mm; females: 50-52mm) flies in China: Shaanxi: Taibaishan Mountains; Tsinling Mountains, Houzbenzi, Dudamen Village; Quinlingshan, Changping, Fopin, at elevations of 1000-1600m.

R. f. guangdongensis (wingspan: males: 49mm; females: 47-60mm) flies in China: Guangdong: Luokeshan, Huaiji County, Hunan: Nanling Mountains: Mt. Shikengkong; Jiucai Ling, at elevations of 1300-1500m.

R. f. flavescens (wingspan: males: 44-49mm; females: probably larger) flies in China: Tibet: Wangkang.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adults fly in the fall, October-November. Larvae feed upon Acer, Castanea, Celtis, Cyclobelanopsis, Fagus, Hevea, Ilex, Phellodendron, Prunus, Quercus, Salix, and Zelkova.

Rhodinia fugax fugax female, by of Kenichiro Nakao.

Rhodinia fugax ssp female, China, courtesy of Weiwei Zhang.

Rhodinia fugax male, Nagano, Honshu, Japan, courtesy of Shin-Ichi Ohshima.

Rhodinia fugax female, Nagano, Honshu, Japan, courtesy of Shin-Ichi Ohshima.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of the abdomen to emit an airbourne pheromone at daybreak (Hideshi Naka). Males fly into the wind, pick up the scent with their sophisticated antennae and track the female.

The upper wing surface of the females has a yellow background color as opposed to the orange colouration of the males. Females also have less falcate, more rounded upper wings.

Rhodinia fugax female, courtesy of Shin-ichi Ohshima

Ippongi, Kamine, Kawaguchi, Saitama-pref., Honshu, Japan East. November 15, 1975

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE: Diapause is in the egg stage. Adult moths emerge in October-November. After pairing, females deposit eggs on hostplant twigs and bark. Tiny larvae emerge the following spring. Eggs are coated with a dark glue and are slightly oblong. Image of eggs courtesy of Alan Marson.

Early instars are black and yellow. Mature larvae, laterally, have a dark green lower half and a lighter yellow-green upper half. Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon.

The cocoon is ornately fashioned and is attached to tree twig or stem by means of a peduncle. When first spun, the cocoon is a brilliant green. Adult moths emerge in the fall. The eggs can easily be overwintered in a refrigerator. Hatchings do well on Crataegus (Hawthorn), and that is what Alan Marson is using. Eggs were obtained from Shin-Ichi Oshima.

Rhodinia fugax first instar, courtesy of Alan Marson

Rhodinia fugax second instar, courtesy of Alan Marson

Rhodinia fugax second instar, courtesy of Alan Marson

Rhodinia fugax third instar variation, courtesy of Alan Marson

Rhodinia fugax third instar courtesy of Franz and Julian Renner.

Rhodinia fugax fourth instar courtesy of Franz and Julian Renner.

Rhodinia fugax fifth instar courtesy of Franz and Julian Renner.

Alan Marson writes, "I promised to send some photos of the Rhodinia fugax and Rhodinia tensingyatsoi cocoons showing an interesting difference. If you look at the first image, it shows these species side by side. The R. fugax on the left are a very different shade of green. However, the second image shows a more fundamental difference. R. fugax (again on the left) has a small hole at the bottom of the cocoon to allow drainage of rain water? (just speculation). R. tensingyatsoi does not have this feature. The cocoon simply ends in a point - no hole. I wonder why?"

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

Acer Castanea Celtis pallida Cyclobalanopsis glauca Fagus Hevea brasiliensis Ilex verticillata Keyaki Phellodendron amurense..... Platanus Prunus Quercus acutissima Quercus dentata Quercus serrata Salix Zelkova

Maple Chestnut Celtis Japanese evergreen oak Beech Para rubber tree Winterberry holly/Winter Red Black alder Keyaki Cork tree Sycamore Cherry Oak Daimyo oak Konara oak Willow Japanese zelkova

Return to Main Saturnidae Index

Return to Rhodinia Genus

The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion. It is based on commonly accepted English pronunciation of Greek names and/or some fairly well accepted "rules" for latinized scientific names.

The suggested pronunciations, on this page and on other pages, are primarily put forward to assist those who hear with internal ears as they read.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

Some of the early describers/namers chose genus and species names indicating some character of the insect, but more often, they simply chose names from Greek or Roman mythology or history.

Those species names which end in "ensis" indicate a specimen locale, and those which end in "i", pronounced "eye", honour a contempory friend/collector/etc.

The genus name "Rhodinia" is from the name of the earth's first supercontinent, Rhodinia, which split into smaller continents at the time the earth was divided.

The species name "fugax" is related to "fugitive (fleeing)".

On my computer only, visit Rhodinia notes, Brechlin 2007.

Pheromone reference on my home computer only Rhodonia fugax; Loepa sakaei pheromone study.