Adeloneivaia isara
(Dognin, 1905) Adelocephala

Adeloneivaia isara moth (male) courtesy of Chris Conlan.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Ceratocampinae Harris, 1841 was Citheroniinae Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894 Genus: Adeloneivaia, Travassos, 1940 Species: isara, Dognin, 1905

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DISTRIBUTION:

Adeloneivaia isara (wingspan: males: 36-54mm; females: 52-63mm) ranges from the Peloncillo Mountains in southeastern Arizona (stragglers only) southward through
El Salvador: San Salvador;
Mexico: Sonora, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Guerrero, Chiapas;
Belize: Cayo, Orange Walk and Toledo;
Guatemala: Zacapa, Huehuetenango;
Nicaragua: Esteli, Madriz, Jinotega, Chinandega, Managua, Carazo; and
Costa Rica: Guanacaste, Puntarenas.

I suspect it also flies in Honduras, but I have no confirmed reports as yet. It is a dry forest species.

Adeloneivaia isara male, orange form, Costa Rica,
courtesy of Dan Janzen; dry forest species.

This is smaller moth with a slightly more rounded forewing apex as compared to subangulata, irrorata and catharina. Also note the rounded hindwing outer margin.

Males and females have three colour variations: reddish orange; orange; orangey-yellow. (Visit the series links, with more detailed descriptions, at the bottom of this page.) There is no white dot in the forewing cell which is poorly marked, only slightly darker than surrounding areas. The fw median areas is usually lighter in colour than the basal and post median areas which usually have a suffusion of grey-violet scales.

Adeloneivaia isara male, yellowish-orange form, Costa Rica,
courtesy of Dan Janzen; dry forest species.

The hindwing (males and females) has an accentuated hump along the costa from the body to the midpoint of the costa.

Adeloneivaia isara male, red form, Costa Rica,
courtesy of Dan Janzen; dry forest species,
note the hindwing costal hump.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adeloneivaia isara species flies in July in Arizona but has four broods in Costa Rica where it flies from May to December. Maxime Pastore reports a very late December flight in San Juan del Sur, Rivas, Nicaragua.

Larvae feed on Lysiloma divaricata (Quiebracha) and Lysiloma auritum (Quiebracha)--members of the pea family.

Adeloneivaia isara female, 60mm, Las Cuevas, Cayo, Belize,
courtesy of Norm Smith; id by Bill Oehlke.
dry forest species.

Adeloneivaia isara female, orange form, Costa Rica, courtesy of Dan Janzen;
dry forest species.

Adeloneivaia isara female, orange form (verso), Costa Rica,
courtesy of Dan Janzen; dry forest species,
note the hindwing costal hump.

Adeloneivaia isara female, San Juan del Sur, Rivas Nicaragua,
December 31, 2014, Maxime Pastore.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adult Adeloneivaia isara moths emerge from pupae, and males are slightly smaller than females.

Mating takes place shortly after dusk.

Adeloneivaia isara male, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Night-flying females lay translucent eggs on host plant leaves. Newly emerged larvae have elongated thoracic scoli.

"Horns" diminish in size relative to body mass as the larvae develop. The horns, however, remain spinous as evidenced in this third instar larva.

Scoli, lateral and dorsal, on abdominal segments almost match the thoracic scoli by the fifth instar. This larva will shortly descend tree trunk to find a pupation site.

Larvae pupate underground in small chambers. Care of larvae and pupae should be as for any Neotropical species. Pupae are quite rough with sharp projections and a long, thin, forked cremaster.

Adeloneivaia isara sixth instar, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Viktor Suter.

Adeloneivaia isara sixth instar, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Viktor Suter.

Visit Adeloneiva isara males, recto series.
Visit Adeloneiva isara males, verso series.
Visit Adeloneiva isara females, recto series.
Visit Adeloneiva isara females, verso series.
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