DISTRIBUTION:

Arsenura drucei (wingspan: males: 150mm; females: 145-170mm) flies in wetlands in
Costa Rica: Puntarenas (CL), Alajuela, Guanacaste, San Jose and Heredia (IB); and in
Panama: Chiriqui, preferring elevations between 600-1800 meters above sea level. Jean Michel Maes reports it from
northern Nicaragua: Jinotega, so it probably flies throughout the country.

Arsenura drucei male, Arenal Volcano, Alajuela, Costa Rica,
July 22, 2005, courtesy of Torsten van der Heyden, id by Bill Oehlke.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are probably at least two generations of Arsenura drucei on the wing each year, the first in February and the second in July. Moths prefer a light rain and are on the wing from 11:30 pm-2:30 am.

Larvae feed upon Pachyra aquatica and Malvaviscus in the lab.

Arsenura drucei male, Arenal Volcano, Alajuela, Costa Rica,
July 22, 2005, courtesy of Torsten van der Heyden, id by Bill Oehlke.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Arsenura drucei male courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Males use well-developed antennae to seek out females which scent at night, usually calling after 11:00 pm..

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae resemble other Arsenurinae species, and the elongated thoracic scoli and anal horn, typical of the early instars, are greatly diminished in the final instar.

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.

Pachyra aquatica..... Malvaviscus palmanus Spirotheca rosea Theobroma angustifolium

Pachyra aquatica Mallow Spirotheca rosea Theobroma angustifolium

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 "drucei" is honourific for Druce.

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