I note the lower moth in the photo directly above is considerably darker than the upper moth, and the lower moth seems to lack the orangey-brown fringe evident in the upper moth. I think the lower moth is either the female of leoni, an example of P. anikae, recently described from Puerto Angel, Oaxaca, an example of P. andrei recently described from Ocosingo, Chiapas, or something undescribed.* See additional comments below.

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

DISTRIBUTION:

Paradirphia leoni (wingspan: males: 59mm; females: probably larger // forewing length: males: 30-31mm; females: probably larger) flies in
Mexico: Chiapas: San Cristobal de la Casas at elevations near 2200m.

Paradirphia leoni is perhaps the smallest member of the genus. Ground colour is light grey-grown with a pinkish/rosy tint.

When the moth is in the spread position, the solid white forewing pm line seems to drop straight down from the upper edge of the costa to the first vein below the costal edge where it turns abruptly outward and downward in a smooth arc to vein M2 from whence it travels straight down toward the inner margin, making an inward turn at A1 to the inner margin.

The am line is also solid white, projecting from the costa outward, parallel to the inner margin, turning downward and running subparallel to the pm line from the upper edge of the cell to the inner margin.

There does not seem to be a strong, continuous, lighter-coloured band tracing the outer edge of the pm line in this species, but there is a weaker, thinner band, and there are darker-grey intraneural suffusions in the postmedian area.

* I mention that I think the upper moth in the image at the top of the page is Paradirphia leoni, mostly because of location and features mentioned below the image and directly above. I also mention that the lower moth appears different. The darker, significantly wider median field and the less dramatic upper outward turn of the pm line seem consistent with P. andrei, but Brechlin & Meister depict andrei as also having orangey-brown fringe on all wings. The lower moth in the image above definitely seems lacking of such fringe, and is in that regard more consistent with the more westerly (Oaxaca) P. anikae. Both anikae and andrei have the lighter-coloured band tracing the outer edge of the pm line, which seems evident in both moths.

Anikae is a significantly larger moth, showing more contrast, but it does seem to lack the orange fringe. Perhaps the lower moth is a new species.

Paradirphia leoni HT male, 59mm, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico,
June 10, 2010, 2200, on my home computer only.

Paradirphia frankae/leoni?? male, San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico,
courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Victor Suter.

It is very difficult to distinguish frankae from leoni. I do think frankae probably flies at lower elevations and has more of a pinkish tinge to the wings. I favour leoni for the Brenhard/Victor images on this page, but I am not at all certain. Probably DNA barcoding analysis is required for a more conclusive determination. There are also other very similar species in Mexico.

The female below is more in line with the more pinkish tinge I would expect from frankae, but I think it originates from the same broodstock as the male. Perhaps there is just as much or even more variation within species than there is between species.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in June and probably in other months.

Larval hosts are unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Paradirphia frankae/leoni?? female, San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico,
courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Victor Suter.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Paradirphia leoni larvae are probably highly gregarious and are expected to have the urticating spines typical of larvae from the Subfamily Hemileucinae.

Paradirphia frankae/leoni?? sixth instar, San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico,
courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Victor Suter.

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.

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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, Paradirphia, designated by Michener, 1949, probably results from close affiliation with the genus Dirphia.

The species name "leoni" is honourific for Leon Meister, uncle of junior author Frank Meister.

This page is designed and maintained by Bill Oehlke as part of the World's Largest Saturniidae Site.