TAXONOMY:Superfamily Bombycoidea Latreille, 1802 |
"Wind Beneath My Wings" |
DISTRIBUTION:The Caio championi moth (wingspan: males: 112-185mm; females: 148-190mm) flies from Mexico: Veracruz and Chiapas, Yucatan (CM) and probably Campeche, Tabasco and Quintana Roo; south through Belize: Corozol, Cayo, Toledo; Guatemala: Chimaltenango (probably throughout Guatemala); Nicaragua: Matagalpa and Rivas (probably throughout Nicaragua); Costa Rica: Puntarenas; and Panama: Chiriqui (probably throughout Panama) to Venezuela: Zulia; and Colombia: Valle de Cauca and Choco (CL) and Antioquia, Tolima and Nariono (ARA), and probably Cauca (WO); and possibly to northwestern Ecuador: Esmeraldas.I suspect there are populations in El Salvador and Honduras. Caio championi, Guatemala, Greg Lewallen, right. |
Eric van Schayck reports it from Peru with the specimen below.
The females lack the distinguishing tails of the males and tend more toward a pale brown colour.
Female Caio championi moth, Dan Janzen.
Larvae have white saddles in the early instars and are equipped with thoracic horns.The burgundy head is not visible in this image. Subsequent moults result in a green head and body. |
There's not much to protect any larvae from small parasitic wasps, however, and this one has succombed.Larvae can easily reach lengths of 120 mm and this one got quite chunky on Bombacopsis quinatum despite the parasites. |
Bombacopsis quinatum..... |
Bombacopsis quinatum |
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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.
Caio, most often called Caligula, is one of the two heirs
indicated by Tiberio in his will. Caligula was elected Emperor, ruled
for a short time and fell victim to a conspiracy. He was murderd for
his cruelty to the people.
The species name, columbiana, is indicative of a collecting locale
in Colombia.