Arsenura ciocolatina
Ar-sen-OOR-uhMchoh-kuh-lah-TEE-nuh
Draudt, 1930

Arsenura ciocolatina moth (male) courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Arsenura beebei moth (male) courtesy of Thibaud Decaens,
more likely A. ciocolatina, Frederic Beneluz.

Arsenura ciocolatina male, Indiana, Loreto, Peru,
February 20, 2011, courtesy of Dominik Hofer, id by Bill Oehlke

Arsenura ciocolatina male, northeastern, Peru,
November 9, 2007, courtesy of Shirley Sekarajasingham, id by Bill Oehlke

DISTRIBUTION:

The Arsenura ciocolatina moth (wingspan: males: 86-121mm; females: 110-148mm) flies in eastern Ecuador and through the whole Guyano-Amazonia. In Bolivia, it is found at low elevations (300-600 m). The scanned male above and female below are from North Bolivia, La Paz (Nor Yungas) and Beni.

Records for this common and widespread species exist for
Venezuela: District Federal, Miranda, Bolivar, and probably Guarico, Anzoategui, Apure and Amazonas;
Surinam: Riviere Tapanahoni (Sipaliwini);
In the Lemaire collection there is a specimen collected by H. Heyde in Marowijne, Vliegv, Paloemu a bouven, Tapanahony, Suriname, September 1978 (FB).

Arsenura ciocolatina male, Marowijne, Suriname,
September, 1978, collected by H. Heyde, courtesy of Frederic Beneluz,
slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

French Guiana: Inini (near Kaw) probably in error (FB); Saül in April, 1972 by Jean-Thibaut Betz (two males);

Arsenura ciocolatina male, Saul, French Guiana,
April, 1972, collected by Betz, courtesy of Frederic Beneluz,
slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Arsenura ciocolatina male, Saul, French Guiana,
April, 1972, collected by Betz, courtesy of Frederic Beneluz,
slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Brazil: Para, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Acre, and probably Roraima and Rondonia and southwestern Amapa;
Colombia: Boyaca CL, Meta CL, Cundinamarca CL, Antioquia ARA, and probably Caldas, Caqueta, ' Putamayo, Amazonas;
Ecuador: Sucumbios LTR, Napo CL (common (LR)), Orellana LTR, Pastaza LTR, Tungurahua LTR, Morona Santiago CL and Zamora Chinchipe CL, and in
Peru: Loreto, Huanuco, Junin, Madre de Dios, and probably Ucayali, Pasco, Cusco and Puno; and
Bolivia: La Paz TD, Beni TD, Cochabamba CL, Santa Cruz CL, and possibly Pando. I suspect it also flies in Guyana: Cayuni-Mazaruni, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo and sothern parts of East Berbice-Corentyne. Locations followed by my intitials (WO) indicate a speculative range, without confirmed reports.

The smaller size, darker, almost uniform colouration, and narrow and well marked discal spots distinguish this species from armida. This species also displays less white than found in armida.

Of the species in the armida group, Frederic Beneluz indicates all armida and ciocolatina specimens, males and females have only two lobes projecting outward from the postmedian line (clearly marked - when visible on photos!). This character is the best determiner for ciocolatina (and armida). On the other hand, A. beebei and A. delormei have at least three and sometimes more lobes as is the case with A. mossi, A. giuglarisi etc.

Then, colouration, contrast and wing shape may differ between specimens and populations of this widespread species, but the combination of some or all these characters may fortunately give a specific indication....

Arsenura ciocolatina male, Rio Venado, Junin, Peru,
January 18, 2007, 1050m, courtesy of Vladimir Izersky.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are probably at least two generations of Arsenura ciocolatina on the wing each year from January to February and in July. There are reported records from French Guiana for April (FB), and in Suriname for September. Moths prefer a light rain and are on the wing from 12:10-3:30 am

Arsenura ciocolatina (female) courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Arsenura beebei moth (female) courtesy of Thibaud Decaens,
more likely A. ciocolatina, Frederic Beneluz.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Arsenurini males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night. The lower wings of the female (above) are much more rounded than those of the male. Females also tend to be much larger than males.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae descend tree trunks at maturity 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 "ciocolatina" may be a derivative of 'chocolate' for the deep brown colour of this moth.

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