DISTRIBUTION:

The Copiopteryx semiramis banghaasi moth (forewing wingspan: males: 93-102 (CL), 110-120mm (KP and RL); females: 120mm) flies in
Mexico: Quintana Roo and Chiapas;
Belize: Corozol, Stann Creek, (Toledo: Punta Gorda NS);
Nicaragua: Matagalpa, Granada, probably Boaca and Managua; and
Guatemala: Quetzaltenango (Coatepeque) and possibly Huehuetenango.

It also flies in El Salvador: Ahuachapan (Ronald D. Cave); and
Honduras: "6/4/02 Sinai, Yoro 1410 m N 15 25 46 W 87 21 43 120 mm dept Yoro. I have seen specimens also in 2006 35 km west and 5 km south of La Ceiba at 130 m elevation," Robert Lehman.

Copiopteryx semiramis banghaasi male, Chiapas, Mexico, courtesy of Kelly Price.

Copiopteryx semiramis banghaasi male, Chiapas, Mexico, courtesy of Kelly Price.

This subspecies has a paler, yellow-brown colouration compared to the other subspecies. The hindwing discal spot in the male is triangular.

Copiopteryx semiramis banghaasi male, Honduras, courtesy of Robert Lehman.

This specimen above, wingspan 120mm, is considerably larger than Lemaire's indications for C. s. banghaasi, yet its colouration (lighter, especially hindwings) is a better match for C. s. banghaasi than for the larger C. s. andensis which has a reported range from Costa Rica south to Peru.

HABITAT

This species flies in tropical rain forest from sea level to at least 1200m.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Robert Lehman reports a specimen taken in June in Yoro.

Copiopteryx semiramis banghaasi flies late at night. Jan Meerman reports rearing larvae on Manilkara chicle in Belize.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females have much shorter hind wing tails than males do, and emit a pheromone at night to "call" in the males..

Copiopteryx semiramis banghaasi, female, Nicaragua, courtesy of Jean-Michel Maes.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Early instar larvae are spiny and hatch from eggs after approximately fourteen days of development.

Tiny larvae feed on leaf tips from underside veins.

Pupation is in early (pre-dawn) morning in subterranean chambers.

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.

Manilkara chicle.......

Chicle

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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.

The genus name "Copiopteryx" comes from the Greek word "pterygion" for wing.

The species name "semiramis" is probably from Semiramis, the wife of Nimrod and queen of Babylon. The subspecies name "banghaasi" is for the collector Bang-Haas.