DISTRIBUTION:

The Arsenura archianassa archianassa moth (wingspan: males: 147mm; females: 174mm) flies in western Colombia: Valle and Choco, and probably Cauca and Nariono; and in
western Ecuador: Pichincha, Imbabura (LTR), Cotopaxi (LTR), Canar (LTR), and possibly Esmeraldas (WO?) and Carchi (WO?) and Los Rios (LTR?).

It is not clear where the geographic division between Arsenura archianassa archianassa (western Colombia) and Arsenura archianassa porioni southwestern Ecuador occurs. Possibly they are synonyms.

Arsenrua archianassa archianassa male, Las Tangaras, Choco, Colombia,
1650m, courtesy of Joakim Johansson.

Arsenura archianassa male, Los Cedros, Imbabura, Ecuador,
courtesy of Andreas Kay, id by Bill Oehlke.

Lemaire, Arsenurinae 1980, lists it as endemic to the west cost of Colombia and Ecuador at low elevations. However, it might also be found in Costa Rica: Alajuela, Heredia, Limon, San Hose; and Panama.

Arsenura archianassa male, May 15, 2003,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Arsenura archianassa male (verso), May 15, 2003,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Arsenura archianassa head and feet, Los Cedros, Imbabura, Ecuador,
courtesy of Andreas Kay, id by Bill Oehlke.

This subspecies is distinguished from armida only by geography, and slightly larger size and darker coluration of archianassa. Luigi Racheli indicates this moth, at one time designated as a subspecies of Arsenura armida, was given full species status as Arsenura archianassa archianassa by Lemaire & Venedictoff in 1989.

Arsenura archianassa archianassa female, wingspan 162mm, female,
western Ecuador, courtesy of Kelly Price.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are at least two generations of the Arsenura archianassa archianassa moth annually with adults on the wing in February-March and then again in June-July.

Arsenura archianassa archianassa moth (female) courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Arsenura archianassa archianassa female, wingspan 159mm, female,
western Ecuador, courtesy of Kelly Price.

Arsenura archianassa female, Los Cedros, Imbabura, Ecuador,
courtesy of Andreas Kay, id by Bill Oehlke.

Horst Kach reports they accept Ceiba pentranda.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night. The lower wings of the female (above) are much more rounded than those of the male.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Arsenura archianassa first instar, June 21, 2006,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Arsenura archianassa second instar, June 27, 2006,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Arsenura archianassa second instar, July 2, 2006,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Arsenura archianassa fourth instar, July, 2006,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Arsenura archianassa fourth instar, July, 2006,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Arsenura archianassa fourth instar, July, 2006,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

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.

Ceiba pentranda .......

Silk cotton tree

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.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Arsenura" chosen by Duncan in 1841.

The species name "archianassa" is perhaps for Archianassa, a reported mistress of Plato.

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