Adeloneivaia minuta
Updated as per Lemaire's Ceratocampinae 1988, September 28, 2006
Updated with images from Carlos Mielke, April 3, 2007
Updated as per Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, N.F. 26 (4): 177-180 (2005), courtesy of Stefan Naumann (Carlos Mielke, Ulrich Brosche), April 2007
Updated as per personal communication with Sylvia Barroso (Tiangua, Ceara, Brazil, March 19, 2018); March 20, 2018

Adeloneivaia minuta
(Bouvier, 1927) Adelocephala

Adeloneivaia minuta male, courtesy of Carlos Mielke.

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

Adeloneivaia minuta male, Tiangua, Ceara, Brazil,
March 19, 2018, courtesy of Sylvia Barroso,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke; possibly A. bahiana.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Ceratocampinae Harris, 1841
was Citheroniinae Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894
Genus: Adeloneivaia, Travassos, 1940
Speces: minuta, (Bouvier, 1927)

DISTRIBUTION:

Adeloneivaia minuta (wingspan: males: 38-43mm; females: 47-50mm) flies in coastal areas of
Brazil: Ceara, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Paraiba.

The sprinkling of dark scales on the forewings is quite variable. Ground colour is pale orangey-brown with little contrast between slightly lighter median area compared to darker basal and terminal areas. Further to the south in Bahia one can find Adeloneivaia bahiana, which is similar in size and appearance, but ground colour is a darker orangey-brown, also with little contrast between wing regions.

The species name, minuta, is indicative of the relatively small size of this moth.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adeloneivaia minuta fly in January - February - March, and as a second flight in June - July.

Adeloneivaia minuta female, courtesy of Carlos Mielke.

Adeloneivaia minuta female, Tiangua, Ceara, Brazil,
March 19, 2018, courtesy of Sylvia Barroso,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke; possibly A. bahiana.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adult Adeloneivaia minuta moths emerge from pupae, and males are slightly smaller than females.

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

A light rainfall or mist seems to stimulate additional flight or eclosions.

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.

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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