Adeloneivaia boisduvalii
Updated as per Lemaire's Ceratocampinae 1988, September 28, 2006
SHILAP: Notes on some Saturniidae from Albania (Caqueta Department), Racheli and Vinciguerra, 2005
Updated as per communication from Jean Michel Maes (Nicaragua), March 2007
Updated as per personal communication with Horst Kach (May-Los Bancos), January 2008
Updated as per French Guiana Systematique, February 2008
Updated as per http://www.inbio.ac.cr/bims/k02/p05/c029/o0119/f00885.htm IB
Updated as per personal communication with Shirley Sekarajasingham (Brownsberg, Brokopondo, Suriname, February 24, 2009); October 6, 2012
Updated as per personal communication with Luiz Guilherme Zenóbio Alípio (Nova Mutum, Rondonia, Brazil, November 15, 2016); November 16. 2016

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii
(Doumet, 1859) Adelocephala

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii pair courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii female, French Guiana,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck,
tentative id aggreement by Bill Oehlke.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii female, Peru,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii male, Peru,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Ceratocampinae Harris, 1841
was Citheroniinae Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894
Genus: Adeloneivaia, Travassos, 1940
Speces: boisduvali, (Doumet, 1859)

DISTRIBUTION:

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii (wingspan: males: 56-70mm; females: 80-100mm) flies in
Brazil: Rondonia (LGZA), (probably also Acre, Amazonas and Roraima), Amapa, Para, Mato Grosso, Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo;
Colombia: Valle, Choco, Boyaca, Caqueta and probably Amazonas and Putamayo;
Ecuador: Pichincha, Napo, Sucumbios, Morona-Santiago and probably Pastaza;
Peru: Loreto, Huanuco, Madre de Dios;
Bolivia: Cochabamba, La Paz;
Venezuela: Carabobo, Aragua, Distrito Federal, Miranda, Monagas, Sucre, Bolivar;
Guyana: Omai;
French Guiana: Cayenne, Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Saul, Kaw;
Suriname: Brokopondo: Brownsberg (SS);
southern Nicaragua: Zelaya; Rio San Juan; Jinotega: Lago de Apanas;
Costa Rica: Cartago, Heredia (CL), Alajuela, Guanacaste, Limon, San Jose (IB); and
Panama: Canal Zone;.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii male, rain forest of Costa Rica, courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii male, Lago de Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua,
April 22, 2012, id by Bill Oehlke.

In November 2016, Luiz Guilherme Zenóbio Alípio posted the following image from Nova Mutum, Rondonia, Brazil. Ryan St. Laurent identified it as Adeloneivaia boisduvalii, and I agree with that determination. Claude Lemaire had not previously placed it in Rondonia in his great Ceratocampinae work (1988), but indicated it as a Guiano-Amazonian species. Thus the sighting in Rondonia is not surprising.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii male, Nova Mutum, Rondonia, Brazil,
November 15, 2016, Luiz Guilherme Zenobio Alípio.

The forewing ground colour is dark orange in both sexes. The basal and postmedial areas are a pinkish-brown. Males usually have a small double white discal spot on the dorsal surface of forewings, but there is no discal spot or yellow area on the forewing ventral surface.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii female, Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador,
May 18, 2002, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii female (verso), Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador,
May 18, 2002, courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adeloneivaia boisduvali flies in at least two distinct broods in February, April-May and August suggesting at least two broods. Luiz Guilherme Zenóbio Alípio reports a November flight in Rondonia, Brazil, suggesting a third annual flight. Vany and Dominique report a September flight in French Guiana.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii, male, French Guiana, September 9, 2007, courtesy of Vany and Dominique.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii, male, Brownsberg, Brokopondo, Suriname,
February 24, 2009, courtesy of Shirley Sekarajasingham, id by Bill Oehlke.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii male, Heredia, Costa Rica,
June 22, 2011, courtesy of Lary E. Reeves, id by Bill Oehlke.

Larvae feed upon Acacia dealbata.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii female courtesy of Dan Janzen.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adult Adeloneivaia boisduvalii moths emerge from pupae, and males are considerably smaller than and have more falcate wings than females.

Mating probably begins shortly after dusk with a calling period from 10:30 pm. to 1:00 am.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Night-flying females lay translucent eggs on host plant leaves.

Larvae pupate underground in small chambers.

Care of larvae and pupae should be as for any Neotropical species.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

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.

Acacia dealbata ......

Silver wattle

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

Return to Adeloneivaia Index

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii, male, 64mm Bergendal Resort, Brokopondo, Suriname,
11m, February 17, 2018, courtesy of Tim Taylor, slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii, female, 89mm Bergendal Resort, Brokopondo, Suriname,
11m, August 12, 2018, courtesy of Tim Taylor, slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Adeloneivaia boisduvalii, female, 97mm Rosebel, Brokopondo, Suriname,
26m, February 14, 2018, courtesy of Tim Taylor, slight digital repair and id (boisduvalii) by Bill Oehlke.