Males use highly developed antennae
to locate females by tracking their airbourne pheromone plumes.
EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:Eggs are laid in large
clusters and larvae feed gregariously. Typical of the Subfamily
Hemileucinae, Dirphia species all have urticating spines.
I suspect the larvae will accept oak, but the natural
host plants are unknown.
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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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 "Dirphia" chosen by Hubner in 1819.
The species name "albescens" is indicative of the greyish-white forewing ground colour of the male.
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Hemileucinae 2008
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