DISTRIBUTION:

Salassa hauensteini (forewing length: males: 44-49mm; females: 47-54mm) flies in western Bhutan: District Paro, 7 km SW Paro, road to Chele-La, 3300 m.

Specimens have been taken at elevations from 3050 to 3500m.

Salassa hauensteini male (verso), 81mm, courtesy of Stefan Naumann.

Male dorsal ground colour is gray-orange-brown. The forewing apex is only very slightly produced into a short tip. The forewing cell marking is very narrow and short, maximally 2 mm long. The am line is slightly darker than ground colour and is very diffuse, almost indistinct. It is preceeded by a narrow, convex band of white scales.

The pm line is brown and is outwardly traced by a narrow greyish-white band, which is absent in Salassa lola.

The hindwing ocellus small and is similar to that of S. lola, consisting of a reddish-orange ring surrounding a middle bluish-white ring and an internal black ring with a glassy center. The rings are nestled against the inner edge of the outer portion of the pm line.

Ventrally there is a very dark brown area just inside the pmline which is outwardly liined with white. The submarginal area is also brown but not so dark. Otherwise the ventral surface is substantially brighter and more grayish than in S. lola.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in May-June and into early July, and possibly in other months.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Salassa hauensteini, A T female, Paro Dzongkhag Forest, Paro, west Bhutan,
86mm, June 21, 2007, 3050m, courtesy of Stefan Naumann.

The female is a greenish gray-brown. The dark grey forewing am line is inwardly lined with white. S. hauensteini and S. lola inhabit different environments. S. lola is found in humid mountain rain forests, while S. hauensteini flies in relatively arid areas on southern slopes in west Bhutan.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

The caterpillars accepted Prunus padus (Rosaceae) and Alnus glutinosa (Betulaceae) for all five instars, but none could be reared to pupation. Larvae spin loose cocoons near the ground amongst loose debris.

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 species is honourific for Armin Hauenstein who travelled to Bhutan in 2005.

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The European Entomologist, Vol. 2, No. 3{4}, pp 93-122, on my home computer only.