DISTRIBUTION:

Citioica anthonilis, (wingspan: males: 52-80mm; females: 75-106mm), flies in
Brazil: Alagoas, Para, Maranhao (TD), Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul;
Mexico: Veracruz, Chiapas;
Belize: Cayo, Stann Creek, Toledo;
Guatemala: Zacapa;
(probably Honduras);
El Salvador: San Salvador;
Nicaragua: Zelaya;
Costa Rica: Heredia (CL), Alajuela, Guanacaste, Limon, San Jose;
Panama: Bocas del Toro; Panama: Gamboa (TJ/KB)
Venezuela: Carabobo, Aragua, Distrito Federal, Miranda, Monagas, Bolivar;
(probably Guyana; and
Suriname);
French Guiana: Territoire de I'Inini, Kaw (Seems to be replaced by C. guayensis in FG);
Colombia: Valle, Choco, Territoria Vasquez, Meta, Caqueta, and probably Amazonas and Putamayo;
Ecuador: Napo, Morona-Santiago and probably Orellana and Pastaza;
Peru: Junin, San Martin, Huanuco, Madre de Dios, Cuzco, Puno;
Bolivia: Beni (AC), La Paz (rubrocanescens present in La Paz), Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca; and
Paraguay UD: Canindeyu, Caaguazu, and probably Alto Parana, Caazapa and Itapua.

This species flies at low elevation.

Citioica anthonilis male, 77mm, San Borja, Beni, Bolivia,
April 2010, courtesy of Alex cahurel.

Visit Citioica anthonilis?? male, (more likely C. guayensis) Gurupi Biological Reserve, Maranhao, Brazil, April 2010, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Citioica anthonilis, Huanuco Province, Peru,
September, 2006, courtesy of Juan Chavez.

In the male, the dark brown preapical pm line is straight except for a noticable turn toward the almost straight am line just before meeting the inner margin. The postmedian area is darker brown than basal and median areas. The outer margin is convex, and thin dark wing veins are noticeable. The basal and median areas are lighter grey-brown. The cell marking is a thin diffuse brown line.

Citioica anthonilis, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
January 6, 2010, courtesy of Larry Valentine.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in September and January-February and April (TD: Maranhao, Brazil). Geraldo Lukas reports an April flight inh Curionopolis, Para, Brazil, at elevations around 185m. Kelsey J. R. P. Byers reports a June flight in Gamboa, Colon, Panama.

Citioica anthonilis larvae feed upon Robinia pseudoacacia and Salix capraea.

Citioica anthonilis male, Paraguay, courtesy of Ulf Drechsel.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females exude a pheromone scent plume into the night sky. Males fly into the wind in a zigzag fashion and use their highly developed antennae to track the plume and locate the females.

Males are considerably smaller than females.

Citioica anthonilis (faded), or Citioica guayensis,
or C. rubrocanescens, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

Citioica anthonilis male, Brazil,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck, slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Citioica anthonilis male, 65mm, Chuquisaca, Bolivia,
on my home computer only.

Citioica anthonilis female, Brazil,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck, slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Citioica anthonilis female, Chuquisaca, Bolivia,
on my home computer only.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Citioica anthonilis, third instar, courtesy/copyright Leroy Simon.

Citioica anthonilis, third instar, courtesy/copyright Leroy Simon.

Citioica anthonilis larva copyright Kirby Wolfe.

Citioica anthonilis / guayensis? larva copyright Franz Ziereis.

Citioica anthonilis / guayensis? larva, Claude Lemaire, on my home computer only.

With regard to the differences between the Kirby Wolfe larval image and the Franz Ziereis image, which is very similar to Lemaire's image, Kirby writes, "When I sent Lemaire a photo of my Citioica anthonilis larva, he was extremely surprised, but neither he nor I were able to find any differences in the adults from his and my rearings. So are they different species? Who's to say? Based on the color of the larva? Larval color can be geographically variable in many species of saturniids. This, I believe, is just an extreme example. Or maybe they're different identical species?? Go figure."

I am just a neophyte compared to Kirby Wolfe and Claude Lemaire, but I would not be surprised to some day learn that the larvae are of different species. I have not seen larvae of any of the Oiticella (very different geographic range), but the moths seem quite similar. Kirby's image also reminds me of some of the Adeloneivaia and Syssphinx larvae, but larvae of many of the Ceratocampinae genera are similar.

It should be noted that Kirby's image is from Mexico.

Based on information in Entomo-Satsphingia journal, the specimens and subsequent larvae from French Guiana (probably from Lemaire and Ziereis) are more likely to be larvae of the recently (2011) Citioica guayensis from French Guiana, and I am going to also display them on the guayensis page.

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.

Robinia pseudoacacia..... Salix capraea

Black locust/false acacia Sallow/Goat willow

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Citioica anthonilis female, Gamboa, Colon, Panama,
June 5, 2017, courtesy of Kelse yByers.