Arsenura angulatus
Updated as per personal communication with Larry Valentine (Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil, November 23, 2009); February 4, 2012; ongoing

Arsenura angulatus
Ar-sen-OOR-uhMang-gyou-LAY-tus
Bouvier, 1924

Arsenura angulatus male, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
note dark feet, January 27, 2011, courtesy of Larry Valentine.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Arsenurinae, Jordan 1922
Tribe: Arsenurini, Jordan, 1922
Genus: Arsenura Duncan, 1841
Species: angulatus Bouvier, 1924

DISTRIBUTION:

Arsenura angulatus (wingspan: males: 88-121mm; females: 92-115mm) flies in
southern Brazil: Goias, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais: Capim Branco; Itanhandu; Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Parana, Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul at elevations around 900m.

Arsenura angulatus male, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
note dark feet, January 27, 2011, courtesy of Larry Valentine.

Arsenura angulatus male, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
February 21, 2013, courtesy of Larry Valentine.

A. angulatus Bouvier, 1924, was a synonym of A. orbignyana, but is now, 2010, Brechlin & Meister, recognized as a distinct species.

Arsenura angulatus, 115mm, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
courtesy of Philip Brems, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Arsenura angulatus male, Capim Branco, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
October 31, 2016, courtesy of Patricia De Mendonca Goncalves,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Orbignyana Groupe

Arsenura orbignyana

Arsenura paraorbignyana

Longitudinal line of forewing cell perpendicular to costa in both orbignyana and paraorbignyana.
Hindwing marginal markings browner/larger in orbinyana; greyer/smaller in paraorbignyana
Hindwing marginal area with more white in paraorbignyana

Arsenura angulatus

Arsenura xanthopus

Longitudinal line of fw cell not perpendicular to costa; cell mark lower-end angled more toward body
Xanthopus has yellow legs, greyer, darker ground colour, practically devoid of white in in submarginal/marginal area; fw apex slightly produced

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species flies during the early part of the rainy season in September-October-November.

Larry Valentine reports a November 23, 2009 flight in Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil, as well as a January 27, 2011 in the same area. This suggests there are at least two broods.

Arsenura angulatus, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
November 23, 2009, courtesy of Larry Valentine, id by Bill Oehlke.

Arsenura angulatus (verso), Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
November 23, 2009, courtesy of Larry Valentine, id by Bill Oehlke.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

The larvae of the Arsenura genus do not spin cocoons. Instead the large larvae, up to 120 mm in length, excavate subterranean chambers in which to pupate.

Arsenura angulatus fifth instar, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
November 21, 2008, courtesy of Larry Valentine, id by Bill Oehlke.

In the paper that Eurides Furtado sent me, the fifth instar larva, labelled as orbignyana, is green with long uneven thoracic scoli. Earlier instars also had an anal horn. Fourth instar to the right, fifth instar and pupa below. I am pretty sure the paper was written while angulatus was still considered a synonym of orbignyana

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.

Brachychiton
Chorisia
Luehea divaricata
Luehea paniculata.......

Flame Tree
Silk Floss Tree
azota caballo
Açoita-cavalo

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.

I do not know the reason for the species name "angulatus".

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