DISTRIBUTION:

Rothschildia jorulla (wingspan: males: 85mm; females: 91mm) flies in Mexico: Morelos, Veracruz, Tabasco and possibly Jalisco, and is easily confused with R. cincta.

According to Chris Conlan, "Nominate jorulla is often confused with cincta (check your image to be sure!).

Jorulla is a small species from central latitudes of Mexico (Jalisco, Veracruz etc.) and seems to occur in the mountains but I am not certain at what altitudes. If the few records I have seen are correct then it may be at a range of elevations from rather low to up to 6000 feet and maybe higher.

"This one is just not known as well as folks would lead you to believe. More material needs to be collected! There is a beautiful subspecies named lichtenba that can be very common in coastal Oaxaca and Chiapas sometimes but it is not well known either and rather rare in collections. I would be be very suspicious of any existing hostplant records due to the longstanding confusion with R. cincta. Hopefully, I'll get it one of these days and be able to provide more info. It will probably eat privet or cherry though."

Rothschildia jorulla female, 90.6mm, Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico,
courtesy of Kelly Price.

Of jorulla Lemaire writes, "The nominate jorulla ... is a rather small moth, mostly characterized by the very crenulate postmedial line of the fore wings and by the presence of white scales on the outer margins of both fore and hind wings."

Rothschildia jorulla (probably R. c. guerreronis) pair, Mexico,
courtesy of Hubert Mayer copyright.

I am not certain regarding the identification of the above pair. The moths seem to have more of the characters of R. cincta guerreronis. The same is true of the male specimen, below. Lemaire writes, "Although supposed to be a well known insect, the Westwood species has always been misidentified in literature and actually confused with a much commoner Mexican one (see R. cincta guerreronis)."

Rothschildia jorulla (probably R. c. guerreronis), male, Mexico,
courtesy of Hubert Mayer copyright.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species will probably accept Ligustrum (privet), Prunus (cherry) and maybe lilac, ailanthus and oak.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Like most of the Rothschildia, except for the diurnal zacateca, this species calls and pairs at night.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

It is interesting to watch Rothschildia fashion their cocoons. A strong peduncle with a few support silk strands secures the structure while the larva continues "padding its nest" with a continuous back-and-forth movement of the head.

There are both inner and outer cocoons, each with a relatively long valve to facilitate eclosions.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae and/oron various internet resources. 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.

Ailanthus altissima..... Ligustrum Prunus Prunus serotina Quercus Syringa vulgaris

Ailanthus Privet Cherry Wild/Black cherry Oak Common lilac

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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.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

"Rothschildia" is chosen to honour one of the Rothschilds, possibly William.

I do not know the etymology of the species name, jorulla, but there is a volcano called El Jorullo in Mexico.