DISTRIBUTION:

Lemaireodirphia guerreroiana (wingspan: males: mm; females: mm // forewing length: males: 37-44mm; females: 47mm) flies in
Mexico: Guerrero; at elevations near 450-2280m (KP).

This species is a bright reddish-brown, with males being much redder than males of similar species.

Lemairodirphia guerreroiana male, Guerrero, Mexico,
2200m, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

Visit Lemaireodirphia Comparison Chart.

Visit Lemaireodirphia specimens from Guerrero, Mexico. I had originally identified these as Paradirphia lasiocampina, but I am now pretty sure they are much more likely to be Lemaireodirphia guerreroiana.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Larvae possibly feed on Platanus lindeniana, Prunus, Pyrus malus, Robinia pseudoacacia and Salix chilensis. It would also be wise to try oak, beech, rose, as other Lemaireodirphia species seem to accept those as hosts.

This species is on the wing from June-July-August. There are probably additional flight months.

Bernhard Wencel obtained eggs from a female Lemairodirphia August 2, 2014, along Hwy 134, between Los Fogones and Balcon, Guerrero, Mexico, 17° 57'33'' N 101°13'52''W, 1600 m. He reared the larvae on oak and beech.

The following adults emerged after rearing the larvae through. I am pretty sure they are Lemairodirphia guerreroiana.

Lemairodirphia guerreroiana male, Guerrero, Mexico,
2200m, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

Lemairodirphia guerreroiana female, Guerrero, Mexico,
2200m, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Lemaireodirphia guerreroiana AT female, Mexico,
on my home computer only.

4) Paradirphia lasiocampina female, (more likely guerreroiana)
95mm, Guerrero, Mexico, 2280m,
courtesy of Kelly Price, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Lemaireodirphia albida 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 anticipated foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Platanus lindeniana Prunus Pyrus malus Robinia pseudoacacia..... Salix chilensis

Plane Cherry Apple Black locust/False acacia Willow

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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 "Lemaireodirphia" is both honourific of Claude Lemaire and indicative of a great similarity to moths in the genus Dirphia.

The species name "guerreroiana" is indicative of a specimen type locale in Guerrero, Mexico.

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