Caio romulus form brasiliensis
KYE-ohmmRAHM-yuh-lehsmmbruh-zil-ee-ENS-ihs
(Zikan, 1941) (Arsenura)

Caio romulus form brasiliensis (male), Brazil, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.
http://www.saturniidae-mundi.de/Oschayck/schayck.htm

TAXONOMY: Superfamily Bombycoidea Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Arsenurinae, Jordan, 1922 Tribe: Arsenurini, Jordan, 1922 Genus: Caio, Travossa and Noronha, 1968

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DISTRIBUTION:

The Caio romulus form brasiliensis moth flies in southeastern Brazil: Itatiaia (Rio de Janeiro). This moth is probably the same as nominate romulus. The image by Eric van Schayck was sent to me as the nominate species and may well be just that.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Larvae probably feed on Bombacopsis quinatum, Floss silktree (Chorisia) and Basswood (Tilia).

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

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.

Bombacopsis quinatum..... Chorisia Tilia

Bombacopsis quinatum Floss silktree Basswood/Lime/Linden

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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.

Caio, most often called Caligula, is one of the two heirs indicated by Tiberio in his will. Caligula was elected Emperor, ruled for a short time and fell victim to a conspiracy. He was murderd for his cruelty to the people.

Romulus and Remus were twins. Romulus is credited with founding the city of Rome and establishing its early boundaries. He killed his brother for mocking his authority.

The subspecies name, brasiliensis, is for its limited range in southeastern Brazil.