DISTRIBUTION:

Leucanella hosmera (wingspan: males: 95-102mm; females: 101mm) flies in
Costa Rica: Cartago, Puntarenas, San Jose (CL), Guanacaste, Heredia (IB); and
Panama: Chiriqui.

This is a very dark species and the males have a forewing apex that is very pointed, with the postmedian line going almost to the point.

Leucanella hosmera, Costa Rica, courtesy of Dan Janzen.

The female is also dark (not as dark as the male) with an elongated and pointed forewing apex. The hindwing eyespot is especially large.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species is on the wing in February and April through June, suggesting at least two broods.

Leucanella hosmera larvae have been reared on Ligustrum ovalifolium.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use well-developed antennae to seek out females which scent at night.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Relatively large, white, oval eggs are laid in clusters and larvae, which have urticating spines, feed gregariously.

Larval images are courtesy of Dan Janzen. The yellow spines are tipped with fine black "needles" barely visible in this dorsal view.

Leucanella hosmera larva copyright Kirby Wolfe

The cocoon is brown, sturdy, usually leaf-wrapped and affixed to a stem.

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.

Ligustrum......

Privet

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.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Leucanella" chosen by Lemaire in 1969. PERHAPS (pure speculation by Bill Oehlke) it was chosen for the "little light" spots surrounding the pupil in the type species leucane.

I do not know the source of the species name "hosmera".

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