DISTRIBUTION:

Hylesia frigida wingspan: males: 36-36mm; females: 51-57mm) flies in
Costa Rica: Alajuela, Cartago, San Jose (CL), Puntarenas (IB);
Nicaragua: ;
Panama: Chiriqui;
Honduras: Cortes, Lempira;
Guatemala: Quetzaltenango, Esquintla, Solola, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz; and
Mexico: Oaxaca, Chiapas, ; and probably in
Belize: Cayo ?.

HABITAT

This montane species can be found at elevations ranging from 750m to 2400m.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adults are taken every month of the year.

Larvae feed on Pinus maximinoi, Arbutus and Quercus

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 are deposited in several clusters in nests on hostplant foliage.

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

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.

Arbutus Pinus maximinoi ....... Quercus

Arbutus Thinleaf Pine Oak

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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.

I suspect the species name "frigida" is to suggest the cooler temperatures found at 2000m in the habitat of this species.

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