Arsenura biundulata
Updated October 14, 2005
Updated as per Rio Grande do Sul: Arsenurinae and Ceratocampinae; April 25, 2013
Updated as per TROP. LEPID. RES., 25(1): 22-33, 2015: "NÚÑEZ: Catálogo preliminar de Saturniidae de Argentina", August 21, 2015
Updated as per personal communication with Ariadne Nury (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, April 7, 2017); April 8, 2017
Updated as per personal communication with Amanda Alves, via Geraldo Salgado, (Morro Reuter, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, March 18, 2021); March 18, 2021

Arsenura biundulata
Ar-sen-OOR-uhMbye-und-you-LAY-tuh
Schaus, 1906

Arsenura biundulata male, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke. Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Arsenurinae, Jordan, 1922
Tribe: Arsenurini, Jordan, 1922
Genus: Arsenura Duncan, 1841

DISTRIBUTION:

Arsenura biundulata (wingspan: males: 129-158mm; females: 146-160mm // forewing length: males: 83.2mm; females: 88-88.6mm) flies in
southeastern Brazil: Rio Grande do Sul (AN); Sao Paulo; Parana: Quitandinha (MM); Santa Catarina: Rio Vermelho.

Arsenura biundulata male, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil,
April 7, 2017, courtesy of Ariadne Nury.

Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos sent me a paper in August 2015 which includes Arsenura biundulata in northeastern Argentina: Misiones: Campo Ramón.

Arsenura biundulata male courtesy of Alain Van Vyve

Biundulata Groupe

Arsenura biundulata

Arsenura aspasia

Note greater extension of white lobes toward outer margin on forewing postmedian line of Arsenura biundulata to the far left, compared to almost smooth bend in the same area on Arsenura aspasia to the immediate left.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are probably two generations of Arsenura biundulata annually with adults on the wing in January-February-March-April-May and then again in July, suggesting two or three annual broods.

Arsenura biundulata female courtesy of Alain Van Vyve

Arsenura biundulata female, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
courtesy of Daniel Rojas Lanus.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night.

Arsenura biundulata female, Morro Reuter, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil,
March 18, 2021, courtesy of Amanda Alves.

Arsenura biundulata female, southeastern Brazil,
April 23, 1973, courtesy of Mike Buczkowski.

Arsenura biundulata female (verso), southeastern Brazil,
April 23, 1973, courtesy of Mike Buczkowski.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Mature larvae descend foodplant trunks and stems to pupate in subterranean chambers.

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.



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 "Arsenura" chosen by Duncan in 1841.

The species name "biundulata" probably refers to the two major undulations near the outer margin of the wings.

Return to Arsenura Genus

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

Arsenura biundulata male, Campo Ramon, Misiones, Argentina,
on my home computer only.

Arsenura biundulata male, Quitandinha, Parana, Brazil, March 4, 2020,
courtesy of Mateus Martins, id by Bill Oehlke.