DISTRIBUTION:

Archaeosamia watsoni (forewing length: males: 55-72mm; females: 74-78mm in China; males: 78-82 in Taiwan) flies
throughout much of China: Shaanxi; Sichuan; Guangdong; Jiangxi: Wuyi Shan, Xipaihe; Fujian; (probably Ghizhou, Guangxi, Hunan, etc.);
Taiwan; and
possibly ?? in northern Vietnam at elevations from 1300-2400m. The above moth was sent to me as Samia watsoni formosana.

Peigler and Naumann have equated Samia watsoni formosana with Samia watsoni and indicate it is the only Samia with a true hyaline area and a secondary eyespot near the tip of the forewing apex with additional spots below the main eyespot.

The European Entomologist Vol. 5, No 4 Published: 19 April 2014 Subscribe

A new species of Samia Hübner, 1819 (“1816”) (Lepidoptera:Saturniidae) from Vietnam, with taxonomic updates for the genus Stefan Naumann1, Richard S. Peigler2 & Swen Löffler3, Pages 101-115, Published: 19 April 2014

Abstract

A new species of Samia is described from central and southern Vietnam: S. vuvanlieni, sp. n. The male holotype will be deposited in the collections of Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. It is nearest related to S. watsoni Oberthür, 1914 and S. formosana Matsumura, 1913, stat. rev., which we remove from synonymy and for which we figure some early instars. The replacement name Archaeosamia Brechlin, 2007, syn. nov., (for Desgodinsia Oberthür, 1914) is placed into synonymy of Samia. More than 10 years after publication of a generic revision of Samia, taxonomic acts published since then are summarized and evaluated. Aside from a few descriptions, there were some taxonomic acts to which we refer: S. burica Brechlin, 2007, syn. nov. is found to be a junior synonym of S. naessigi Naumann & Peigler, 2001; S. kalimantanensis U & L. H. Paukstadt, 2011, syn. nov. is interpreted as a junior synonym of S. tetrica (Rebel, 1924), and the revised synonymy of S. borneenesis (Rebel, 1925), stat. rev. with that taxon is re-instated; S. selayarensis U. & L. H. Paukstadt, 2013, syn. nov. is interpreted as a junior synonym of S. vandenberghi (Watson, 1915); the new taxon S. beekei U. & L. H. Paukstadt, 2012 is accepted as valid species; the proposed synonymy of S. pryeri (Butler, 1878), stat. rev. with S. cynthia (Drury, 1773) is revised; and, finally, the current synonymic status of S. canningi (Hutton, 1859) with S. ricini (Jones, 1791) is pointed out.

Archaeosamia watsoni male, courtesy of Ronald Brechlin.

Archaeosamia watsoni male (verso), courtesy of Ronald Brechlin.

Its very large size (forewing length: males: 70-80mm; females: 66-78mm), burgundy to reddish brown ground colour, extremely "wavy" pm lines with the outermost line very diffuse, and the previously listed traits suggest a small Archaeoattacus or intermediary genus.

The moth is named to honour J. Henry Watson, a Saturniidae enthusiast from England.

Dr. Ronald Brechlin, 2007, has assigned this moth to a new genus, Archaeosamia.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The species is probably bivoltine in more southerly latitides and univoltine in northernmost portions of its range. Moths are recorded for April-May-June-July-August-September

Manihot esculenta ("Sweet potato tree") is a possible host.

Liquidambar formosana (Chinese sweetgum) has been utilized with very limited success.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

The female begins scenting after dark by projecting a scent gland from the posterior tip of her abdomen. Males fly into the breeze and hone in on the pheromone plume via their highly developed and sensitive antennae.

Archaeosamia watsoni female, Meigu, Sichuan, China, courtesy of Victor Sinyaev.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are probably deposited on host foliage with incubation requiring eight to ten days, longer in cooler conditions.

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.

unknown........

unknown

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

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On my home computer only Samia notes, courtesy of Ronald Brechlin