DISTRIBUTION:

Dirphia centrifurca (forewing length: males: 33-37mm; females: 41mm) flies in Peru: Pasco Province in humid rain forest at elevations around 2511m.

Dirphia centrifurca male (dark), courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

Dirphia centrifurca male, Oxapampa, Pasco, Peru,
2700m, July 2004, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

Dirphia centrifurca male, Oxapampa, Pasco, Peru,
2700m, July 2004, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

In the male forewing, the large median area is a dark chocolate brown. The antemedian area is much lighter, white to light brown. The white postmedian line is straight to very slightly convex, and there is a great suffusion of dark brown and orange scales in the postmedian area.

The hindwing is orangey-brown with a very dark (black) "V" shaped cell spot, dark postmedian band and dark submarginal band. The fringes are orange.

Dirphia centrifurca female, Bernhard Wenczel

In the female forewing, the small antemedian area is grey-brown, the large median area is brown and the postmedian area is light brown (same colour as hindwing) with a suffusion of white scales. The pm line is white, slightly sinuous with the most pronounced curve outward near the apex.

The hindwing is lighter, more brown-less orange as compared to the male, with a thinner "V" shaped cell marking and a post median band that is slightly lighter than the rest of the wing.

Dirphia centrifurca female, Oxapampa, Pasco, Peru,
2700m, July 2004, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

In the male, the straight pm line and dark pm area (orange toward outer margin) distinguishes this species from D. crassifurca which has a concave pm line, a lighter pm area with dark spots, and an absence of the dark hindwing cell spot.

The male hindwings of Dirphia centrifurca and Dirphia centralis are quite similar, but the forewings are very different. See Dirphia centralis below.

Dirphia centralis male, (Peru), Bernhard Wenczel

I am not certain of the identification of the following specimen from Pasco, Peru. It seems a best, but not perfect match for Dirphia centrifurca.

The entire basal area is dark. The fringes are brown. There is not the strong outward suffusion of white from the pmline as found in the Bernhard Wenczel and Hubert Mayer images of centrifurca.

Dirphia centrifurca?? male, Pasco, Peru,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in January, March, April, May, June, July, September and November.

This species seems less common than Dirphia centrifurca which flies in the same seasons in the same area of Peru. D. centifurca responds to lights between 19.00 and 20.00h while D. centralis responded to the same lights after 21.00h.

Foodplants are unknown as of yet.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use highly developed antennae to locate females at night by tracking their airbourne pheromone plumes.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are probably laid in large clusters and larvae probably feed gregariously. Typical of the Subfamily Hemileucinae, Dirphia species all have urticating/poisonous spines.

Foodplants 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 "centrifurca" was chosen "from names of the two probably nearest relatives, D. centralis F. Johnson & Michener, 1948 and D. crassifurca Lemaire, 1971, and also points out the white central furcation of the forewing."