Lemaireodirphia lasiocampina
leh-mair-oh-DIRF-ee-uhMlah-see-oh-cam-PEYE-nuh
C. & R. Felder, 1874

Lemaireodirphia lasiocampina (male) courtesy of Chris Conlan.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Tribe: Hemileucin,Grote & Robinson, 1866 Genus: Paradirphia, Michener, 1949

DISTRIBUTION:

Lemaireodirphia lasiocampina (wingspan: males: 74-83mm; females: 88-103mm) is one of western Mexico's most common Saturniidae, ranging in Sonora, Michoacan, Hidalgo, Mexico, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas. It flies at elevations usually up to 2000m, sometimes higher.

Perhaps ?? it also flies in the states of Sinaloa, Nayarit and Jalisco.

Lemaireodirphia lasiocampina male, Mexico, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Kirby Wolfe, Chris Conlan and Stefan Naumann indicate this is a highly variable species. These three gentlemen feel that all specimens sent to me by Kelly Price on the Paradirphia Comparison page are Paradirphia lasiocampina. There is considerable variation in size and appearance with one male having a wingspan of 95.8mm. I think some of these moths are not lasiocampina.

In June 2012, Brechlin & Meister, moved several species from the Paradirphia genus to the Manodirphia genus (manes) and to the Lemaireodirphia genus (hoegei and lasiocampina). They also described ten new species in the Lemaireodirphia genus. I will have to revisit the moths on the comparison page listed above, as the comments by Kirby, Chris and Stefan may no longer apply. (April 2014)

Visit Lemaireodirphia Comparison Chart.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adults fly in oak forests in the spring.

Larvae feed upon Oaks (Quercus) and Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia).

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females release an airbourne pheromone into the night sky from a gland at the tip of the abdomen. Males use highly developed antennae to locate females (right) at night by tracking their airbourne pheromone plume. At rest, moths fold wings over the body in typical Hemileucinae style.

Lemaireodirphia lasiocampina female, 102mm, Oaxaca, Mexico,
July 2008, courtesy of Bill Garthe, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

There are quite a few Lemaireodirphia species females whcih are quite similar from oaxaca, Mexico. Without a precise location, it is next to impossible to distinguish between them without DNA barcoding analysis.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Larvae are gregarious and have the urticating spines typical of Hemileucinae.

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.

Pyrus malus Quercus Robinia pseudoacacia.....

Apple Oaks Black locust

Paradirphia lasiocampina, Mexico, courtesy of Leroy Simon

Paradirphia lasiocampina, fifth instar, Mexico, courtesy of Leroy Simon

Return to Lemaireodirphia Index

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

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 "Paradirphia" chosen by Michener in 1849, but it probably has to do with the similarity of these moths to those in the genus Dirphia.

The species name "lasiocampina" may in part (lasio) refer to the long (shaggy) hairs on the thorax.

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