ROTHSCHILDIA OF THE WORLD

Rothschildia jacobaeae, male, Argentina, reared on Ligustrum,
courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Rothschildia Grote, 1896: Rothschildia are chiefly neotropical species characterized by large, more or less triangular translucent spots on all four wings.

The abdomen is without tufts, and the antennae in both sexes are doubly bipectinated.

The forewings are generally considerably produced at the apex.

As larvae, the Rothschildia have reduced scoli, never higher than they are wide. The labrum is notched to about one half its depth and secondary setae are rare or absent on dorsum.

Many larvae are green but there are a good many species with some striking patterns and colours.

Rothschidia schreiteriana larva courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

Much of the information provided in the following files has been presented to me by Chris Conlan.

Please note: The advent of DNA barcoding has resulted in many new descriptions. In many cases the "new" species are quite similar to existing species. Do not be surprised if even more refined testing or revisions of thresholds of difference in the future results in some synonymies or even more species/subspecies. Subsequent rearing may or may not indicate differences in larval appearance. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.

Listing of Rothschildia:

N sandimasiana Brechlin & Meister, 2013 Mexico: Durango
N orizaba oroaxacana Brechlin & Meister, 2013 Mexico: Oaxaca
N sinjaevorum Brechlin & Meister, 2013 Peru: Cusco
N speculifer rubra Brechlin & Meister, 2013 Brazil: Bahia; Maranhao
P aurota auromeridensis Brechlin & Meister, 2013 Venezuela: Merida; Carabobo
P aurota auroamazonensis Brechlin & Meister, 2013 Peru: Amazonas; San Martin; Loreto; Ecuador: Napo; Sucumbios; Zamora Chinchipe
P aurota andensis Rothschild, 1907 Peru: Puno: Carabaya; central and southern Peru

N inca inclapaziana Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Bolivia: La Paz
N orizaba verapaziana Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Guatemala: Alta Verapaz
N winbrechlini Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Mexico: Oaxaca
N peggyae Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Mexico: Mexico
N alexapricae Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Costa Rica: Limon
N silkae Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Costa Rica: Cartago
P chiris chuquisaciana Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Bolivia: Chuquisaca; Cochabamba

N peruviana apurimacana Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Peru: Apurimac
N peruviana coxeyi Schaus, 1932 Ecuador: Morona Santiago
N benjamini Hoffmann, 1942 Mexico, removed from synonym of lebeau aroma

P inca inca Rothschild, 1907 Peru: Cusco

P amoena Jordan, 1911 western Peru
N anikae Brechlin & Meister 2010 western Ecuador: Esmeraldas
P arethusa arethusa (Walker, 1855) Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay
P arethusa rhodina Jordan, 1911 Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela
P arianae Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Argentina: Salta; Cajamarca; Tucuman
P aricia aricia (Walker, 1855) northwestern Venezuela, Colombia
P aricia napoecuadoriana Brechlin & Meister 2010 Ecuador: Napo; Morona Santiago
P aricia ariciopichinchensis Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Ecuador: Pichincha
P aurota aurota (Cramer, 1775) Amazonia: Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina
P aurota speculifera (Walker, 1855) Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina; ? Peru
P belus (Maassen, [1873]) southeastern Brazil
mussehi Schaus, 1941, Brazil, is the same as belus
P chiris Rothschild, 1907 Peru, Bolivia
P chrisbrechlinae Brechlin & Meister 2012, Peru
P cincta (Tepper, 1883) Arizona, Mexico
P cincta guerreronis Draudt, 1929 Mexico
P condor (Staudinger, 1894) Bolivia, Argentina
stuarti W. Rothschild, 1901, Bolivia, is the same as condor
f. schreiteri Draudt, 1930, Argentina, is the same as condor

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P equatorialis Rothschild, 1907 western Colombia, western Ecuador
N orizaba bogotana Rothschild, 1907 Colombia: Bogota; now, 2012, a synonym of R. equatorialis

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P erycina erycina (Shaw, [1796]) F. G., Venezuela, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Par.
splendida Palisot de Beauvois, 1811, "Hispaniola", is the same as erycina erycina
amazonia Packard, 1871, Peru, is the same as erycina erycina
satyrus R. Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874, French Guiana, is the same as erycina erycina
martha W. Rothschild, 1907, Colombia, is the same as erycina erycina
vinacea W. Rothschild, 1907, Peru, is the same as erycina erycina
P erycina luciana W. Rothschild, 1907 St. Lucia, Martinique
balatana Bouvier, 1936, Martinique, is the same as erycina luciana
P erycina mexicana Draudt, 1929 Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua
P erycina nigrescens W. Rothschild, 1907 Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, bizPeru
P fabiani Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Costa Rica; Panama

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P hesperus hesperus (Linnaeus, 1758) Ecuador, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Colombia, Peru
P hesperus betis (Walker, 1855) southeastern Brazil, ? Peru; now, 2012, treated as synonym of nominate hesperus
P hesperus lutea Jordan, 1911 Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina; now, 2012, treated as synonym of nominate hesperus
P lutea Jordan, 1911 Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, now, September 2009, has full species status as lutea; ; now, 2012, treated as synonym of nominate hesperus

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P hopfferi (C. & R. Felder, 1859) Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil
rhombifer Burmeister, 1878, Argentina, is the same as hopfferi
pegasus Draudt, 1929, is the same as hopfferi
P hopfflapaziana Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Bolivia: La Paz
P inca incecuatoriana Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Ecuador: Pastaza; Zamora-Chinchipe; Tungurahua; Napo; Morona Santiago; Sucumbios;
P inca incjunensis Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Peru: Junin
P interaricia Brechlin & Meister 2010 Peru: Huanuco; Amazonas; Pasco; Junin
P jacobaeae (Walker, 1855) Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru; doubtful
Attacus affinis R. Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874, Brazil, is the same as jacobaeae
Attacus encelades Girard, 1874, Brazil, is the same as jacobaeae
P jorulla (Westwood, [1854]) Mexico
P jorulla lichtenba Dyar, 1912 Mexico
P jorulloides (Dognin, 1895) Ecuador, northwestern Peru
P lebeau lebeau (Guerin-Meneville, 1868) Venezuela
P lebeau amacurensis Lemaire, 1972 Venezuela
P lebeau aroma Schaus, 1905 Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize
morana Schaus, 1921, Guatemala, is the same as lebeau aroma
f. benjamini C. C. Hoffmann, 1942, Mexico, is the same as lebeau aroma
P lebecuatoriana Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Ecuador: Esmeraldas; Pichincha
P lebeau forbesi Benjamin, 1934 Texas, Mexico
f. draudti Benjamin, 1934, Texas, is the same as lebeau forbesi
jorulla ab. semiimmaculata Gardiner, 1962, ?, is the same as lebeau forbesi
P lebeau inca W. Rothschild, 1907 Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, fabiani, Nicaragua
lebeaui rectilineata Bouvier, 1930, Peru, is the same as lebeau inca
P R. lebeau ssp Misiones, Argentina
P lebecuatoriana eloroiana Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Ecuador: El Oro
P lebtolimaiana Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Colombia: Tolima; ?Panama?
P lebeau yucatana Lemaire, 1971 Mexico, Belize; now R. yucatana; full species status
P maurus (Burmeister, 1879) Argentina, Paraguay
maurusius (Schreiter, 1925), is the same as maurus
P meridana Rothschild, 1907 elevated to full species status, 2012 Venezuela
P orizaba meridana W. Rothschild, 1907 elevated to full species status, 2012 as R. meridana Venezuela
P orizaba (Westwood, [1854]) Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama
P orizaba cauca Rothschild, 1907 western Colombia
P orizaba equatorialis Rothschild, 1907 Ecuador, Colombia
N orizaba uruapana C. C. Hoffman, 1942 Mexico
P paucidentata Lemaire, 1971 northern Venezuela
P peruviana perucentralis Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Peru: Junin
P peruviana peruviana Rothschild, 1907 Peru: Puno; Huanuco?; Bolivia
P orizaba peruviana Rothschild, 1907 Peru, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia; changed to full species status, 2012, as Rothschildia peruviana peruviana
P prionia W. Rothschild, 1907 Brazil
P renatae Lampe, 1985 Peru: Apurimac: very high elevation
P roxana Schaus, 1905 Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua
P schreiteriana Breyer & Orfila, 1945 Argentina, Paraguay
P speculifer speculifer (Walker, 1855) Argentina: Misiones; eastern Brazil
P speculifer siriae Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Uruguay: Tacarembo
P triloba Rothschild, 1907 Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama
P tucumani (Dognin, 1901) Argentina, Bolivia
P vanschaycki Brechlin & Meister, 2012 Trinidad and Tobago; Orinoco Delta, Venezuela
P xanthina paraxanthina Brechlin & Meister 2010 Bolivia
P xanthina Rothschild, 1907 Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, formerly R. aricia xanthina
P yucatana Lemaire, 1971 Mexico, Belize; now R. yucatana; full species status
P zacateca (Westwood, [1854]) Colombia, Peru

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