DISTRIBUTION:

Prior to 2011, Adeloneivaia jason (wingspan: males: 63-88mm; females: 87-123mm) was thought to range throughout
Mexico: Veracruz, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Chiapas;
Belize: Cayo, Stann Creek, Toledo;
Guatemala: Guatemala (El Naranjo), Zacapa, (Izabal (JM));
Honduras: Atlantida, Cortés, Intibuca, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Yoro (all confirmed by Ronald D. Cave), Santa Barbara (Robert Lehman);
El Salvador: San Salvador;
Nicaragua: Nueva Segovia, Jinotega, Matagalpa, Granada, Rio San Juan;
Costa Rica: Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas (CL), Alajuela, Cartago, San Jose (IB);
Panama: Chiriqui, Canal Zone;
Colombia: Valle, Caqueta and probably Amazonas and Putamayo;
Venezuela: Barinas, Lara, Carabobo, Aragua, Miranda, Bolivar;
(? Guyana; ? Suriname);
French Guiana: Kaw, Coralie;
Brazil: Para, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Parana (CM), Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina;
Colombia: Valle;
Ecuador: Pichincha, Napo, Morona-Santiago and probably Pastaza and Sucumbios;
Peru: Amazonas (LTR), Huanuco, Pasco, Cuzco, Madre de Dios, probably San Martin;
Bolivia: Cochabamba;
at elevations of 400-1600 meters above sea level.

In 2011, Brechlin and Meister assigned new names to very similar moths, and A. jason may be more restricted in its range, possibly only to Mexico and much of Central America. BOLD Systems lists it as far south as Panama.

Adeloneivaia jason, male, 83mm, Honduras, courtesy of Ronald D. Cave.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are probably at least three generations per year with peak flights in January-February, and possibly again in June-July and October.

Visit Adeloneivaia jason males and females, Honduras, courtesy of Robert Lehman.

Adeloneivaia jason female, Las Cuevas, Cayo District, Belize,
114mm, courtesy of Norm Smith, via Art Gilbert.

Adeloneivaia jason female (verso), Costa Rica,
110mm, courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Adeloneivaia jason male, Las Cuevas, Cayo District, Belize,
79mm, courtesy of Norm Smith, via Art Gilbert.

Larvae feed on various oaks, but Inga vera and Inga punctata are used successfully in the laboratory.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adults emerge from pupae, and males (above) , whose forewings are much less rounded than those of the females, are slightly smaller than females.

Adeloneivaia jason male (verso), Costa Rica,
courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Mating commences near midnight, with male activity at lights peaking from 12:30- 2:30 am.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Eggs are translucent green and developing larvae can easily be seen through the eggshells as per image to right. Image courtesy of Angelo Santin.

Eight elongated thoracic spines are typical of first instar larvae. The following images are courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Larvae are quite spectacular with bright colouration and splendid armaments, typical of Ceratocampinae. Inga vera and Inga punctata work well in the lab.

At maturity larvae descend foliage trunks and stems to pupate in subterranean chambers. Pupae are quite rough with a long, thin forked cremaster.

Listed below are the primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

Inga vera Inga punctata Quercus agrifolia....... Quercus dumosa Quercus kelloggii

Inga vera Inga punctata Coast live oak California scrub oak California black oak

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Visit Adeloneivaia jason series, males, recto.
Visit Adeloneivaia jason series, males, verso.
Visit Adeloneivaia jason series, females, recto.
Visit Adeloneivaia jason series, females, verso.

Adeloneivaia jason male, 77mm, Oaxaca, Mexico,
on my home computer only.

Adeloneivaia jason female, 102mm, Oaxaca, Mexico,
on my home computer only.

Because of the shape of the antennae on the following females, I believe they belong to Adeloneivaia genus, but the enlarged forewing cell mark does not really seem a good match for jason??

Adeloneivaia jason or ?? female, Pooks' Hill Reserve, Cayo District, Belize,
June 23, 2006, courtesy of Brant Reif.

Adeloneivaia ?? female, 92mm, Las Cuevas, Cayo, Belize,
courtesy of Norm Smith, tentative id by Bill Oehlke (very orange).

Adeloneivaia ?? female, 87mm, Punta Gorda, Toledo, Belize,
courtesy of Norm Smith, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.