DISTRIBUTION:

Hylesia dalina (wing span: males: 34-45mm; females: 42-59mm) flies in
Colombia: Antioquia and probably Choco, Valle del Cauca and Nariono;
Costa Rica: Guanacaste, Limon, Heredia, Cartago, Puntarenas (CL), Alajuela, San Jose (IB);
Mexico: Baja California Norte, Chiapas;
Belize: Cayo, Stann Creek, Toledo;
Honduras: Atlantida, Comayagua;
Guatemala: El Peten;
Nicaragua: ;
El Salvador: Ahuachapan;
Panama: Darien;
Venezuela: Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, Yarcuy, Zulia, Tachira;
Colombia: Valle, Choco, Boyaco;
and Ecuador: Pichincha and Canar. In Venezuela it has been classified as H. schausi and in Colombia as H. dalifex. It flies in habitats with elevations from sea level to 1000m.

Dan Janzen indicates there might be two cryptic species in Costa Rica with true dalina being a rain forest species, with a very similar dry forest species that has not been named.

Hylesia dalina male, costa Rica, courtesy of Dan Janzen.

The thorax is greyish-brown and the abdomen is orangey-yellow. The male forewing is apically produced and then concave for its upper half. The ground colour varies from pinkish-grey to greyish-brown. The wide brown lines are usually prominent and straight. The cell mark is dark brown.

The underside can be reddish brown to dull grey.

I have identified the male and female Hylesia below as H. dalina, primarily based on the hindwing shape of the female and from geography (Cayo District, Belize) and from fact they were taken at same locale on same date.

The female seems a very good match for Dan Janzen's female from Costa Rica, and Claude Lemaire writes, "Hylesia dalina can be easily identified by the shape of all four wings in male and female specimens, especially by the short tail-like angle at the apex of CuA2 on the outer margin of the hindwing."

Hylesia dalina male, Pook's Hill Reserve, Cayo District, Belize,
June 23, 2006, courtesy of Brant Reif, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Hylesia dalina female, Pook's Hill Reserve, Cayo District, Belize,
June 23, 2006, courtesy of Brant Reif, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

In Costa Rica is has been recorded in January, August-September, and in November. It probably broods continuously. Larvae feed on Casearia arguta, Casearia odorata and Malaviscus arboreus

Hylesia dalina female courtesy of Dan Janzen.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of the abdomen, and the night-flying males pick up and track the airbourne pheromone plume with their well-developed antennae.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs, white and spherical, are deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage. Urticating hairs from the female's body cling to the eggs.

Hylesia dalina larvae are highly gregarious and have the urticating spines typical of larvae from the Subfamily Hemileucinae.

Hylesia dalina larva courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Larval Food Plants

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.

Casearia arguta Casearia odorata Malaviscus arboreus.....

Casearia arguta Casearia odorata Wax mallow

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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.

I do not know the origin of the genus name Hylesia.

The species name dalina indicates a dale or valley and may refer to the low altitude habitat of the holotype.