Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis
roh-DIN-ee-uhMrud-LOFF-eyeMsye-NEN-sis
Brechlin, 2001

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis male, courtesy of Steve Kohl,
Nanling Mts. Ruyuan, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China, 1040 m.

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis male, Guangdong Province, China,
1040m, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Saturniini, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Genus: Rhodinia, Staudinger, 1892

DISTRIBUTION:

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis (forewing length: males: 51-62mm; females: 60-67mm) flies in China:
Hunan: Nanling Mountains: Mt. Shikengkong; Zhangjiajie, Dayong;
Guangdong: Luokeshan, Huaiji, Ruyuan;
Ghizhou: Pangxian, Huopushan, Duyun, Leigongshan;
Guangxi: Zhongshan, Lianshan;
Jiangxi: Wuyi Shan, Xiepaihevil, Wumeishan, Qing-an, Guangehang, Dongtingshan, Wugongshan;
Fujian: Dai Mao Shan, Longyan, Guangzhe, Dayueshan;
Zhejiang: Xitianmushan, Ling-An; and
Anhui: Qiyushan; at elevations of 850-1800m.

It is slightly smaller than the nominate species from Vietnam.

Steve Kohll writes, "Today (November 14, 2007), I send you a series on Rhodinia rudloffi (sinensis), with locality data as follows: Nanling Mts. Ruyuan, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China, 1040 m. This seems to be the same as Franz Renner's data under his "verecunda" larvae pictures. As far as I know, R. verecunda has only been described as an endemic to Taiwan, so maybe his pictures relate to R. rudloffi as well. There seems to be great variety in the larvae, as you may see in L3, with a "dark" and a "light" morph.

"Larvae were reared on oak and in last instar on Prunus sp., wingspan of the male is 120mm, with a forewing length of 51-62mm.

"R. rudloffi can be distiguished from R. newara by the undulated postmedian band on the hindwing, from R. verecunda by the larger size and the broader median fields on forewing and sometimes hindwing."

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis male

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis female, Guangdong Province, China,
1040m, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis female, China, courtesy/copyright Weiwei Zhang

Visit Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis, China, male and female, live and spread, courtesy of Weiwei Zhang.

Visit Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis, China, male (HT) and female (AT), spread, courtesy of Ronald Brechlin.

Visit Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis, China, male and females, courtesy of Anatolij Kulak.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adults fly in the fall (November 15 - December 10, as late as January 20 in Anhui Province) and lay eggs that overwinter.

Larvae feed upon Cherry (Prunus) and Oak (Quercus) in captivity. Tilia has also been used in Russia.

Rhodinia newara, Vietnam, courtesy of Victor Siniaev of Russia, via Yuri Berezhnoi

The above image was sent as Rhodinia rudloffi, which may be correct, but I believe they are Rhodinia newara.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of the abdomen to emit an airbourne pheromone into the night sky. Males fly into the wind, pick up the scent with their sophisticated antennae and track the female.

Females also have less falcate, more rounded upper wings.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs overwinter.

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis first instar, courtesy of Steve Kohl,
Nanling Mts. Ruyuan, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China, 1040 m.

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis second instar, courtesy of Steve Kohl,
Nanling Mts. Ruyuan, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China, 1040 m.

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis third instar (dark form), courtesy of Steve Kohl,
Nanling Mts. Ruyuan, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China, 1040 m.

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis third instar (light form), courtesy of Steve Kohl,
Nanling Mts. Ruyuan, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China, 1040 m.

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis fourth instar, courtesy of Steve Kohl,
Nanling Mts. Ruyuan, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China, 1040 m.

Rhodinia rudloffi sinensis fifth instar, courtesy of Steve Kohl,
Nanling Mts. Ruyuan, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China, 1040 m.

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.

Prunus ....... Quercus Tilia

Cherry Oak Linden/Lime

Return to Main Saturniidae 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 "rudloffi" is honourific for Jan-Peter Rudloff, of Roßlau, Germany.

The subspecies name is indicative of the range in China.

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