Copaxa rufa
koh-PAX-uhMROO-fuh
Draudt, 1929

Copaxa rufa male, copyright protected, Kirby Wolfe.

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: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Saturniini, Boisduval, 1837 Genus: Copaxa, Walker, 1855

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DISTRIBUTION:

Copaxa rufa flies in Mexico: Veracruz.

Copaxa rufa male, courtesy of Viktor Suter/Bernhard Wenczel.

Lemaire, 1978, treats Copaxa rufa as a synonym of C. multifenestrata, but the moth has since been elevated to full species status. Males are a deep red brown, have a pointed, produced apex. The outer margin is hollowed out below the apex. The orientation of the line of the outer margin is almost at right angles to the orientation of the inner margin, although the anal angle is rounded. There is a light dusting of white scales on the outer edge of the forewing transverse line. Image to the right is on my home computer only.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Copaxa rufa larvae feed upon avocado (Persea americana).

Most of the Copaxa brood continuously so I suspect rufa would be on the wing every month of the year.

Copaxa rufa female, copyright protected, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Male Copaxa rufa moths use highly developed antennae to locate females shortly after dark by tracking the airbourne pheromone plume. The female releases this scent into the night air via an organ extended from the tip of the abdomen.

Copaxa rufa female, courtesy of Viktor Suter/Bernhard Wenczel.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Although the natural host is avocado, Alan Marson writes, "I reared them on Liquidambar. I’ve never had much success with Copaxa species because I can’t get Avocado. However, C. rufa did very well on Liquidambar. And the next generation (now L4) are doing even better on Eucalyptus gunnii."

Visit Copaxa rufa instars 3-5 on sweetgum and cider gum.

Copaxa rufa eggs, courtesy of Leroy Simon

Copaxa rufa larva, copyright protected, Kirby Wolfe.

Copaxa rufa larva, copyright protected, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Copaxa rufa fifth instar larva, courtesy of Viktor Suter/Bernhard Wenczel.

This very interesting image of a Copaxa larva from Puebla, Puebla, Mexiko (about 80 miles southeast from Mexiko City) on an avocado tree, size about 7 cm, was sent to me by Christian Steger.

I think it is Copaxa multifenestrata, but even Kirby Wolfe is not sure.

Visit Copaxa rufa male and female, Mexico, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Visit Copaxa rufa male and larva, courtesy of Gary Saunders.

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.

Eucalyptus gunnii Liquidambar styraciflua ....... Persea americana

Cider Gum (AM) Sweetgum (AM) Avocado

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