Dirphia dolosa
Updated as per Lemaire's Hemileucinae 2002, March 2008
This page has been updated August 24, 2015, based on reference material for Argentina, sent to me by Ezequiel Bustos, as cited in a recent publication: NÚÑEZ: Catálogo preliminar de Saturniidae de Argentina TROP. LEPID. RES., 25(1): 22-33, 2015 31.
Updated as per ZOOLOGIA LEPIDÓPTEROS DE IMPORTÂNCIA MÉDICA OCORRENTES NO RIO GRANDE DO SUL. III. SATURNIIDAE – HEMILEUCINAE (flight months; foodplants; RGDS); Alexandre Specht; Elio Corseuil; Aline Carraro Formentini

Dirphia dolosa
Bouvier, 1929

Dirphia dolosa courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

Dirphia dolosa male, Tapirai, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
August 18, 2014, courtesy of Enio Branco.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family Saturniidae Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Tribe: Hemileucini, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Genus: Dirphia, Hubner, 1819

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DISTRIBUTION:

Dirphia dolosa (wingspan: males: 68-87mm; females: 92-101mm) flies in
southeastern Brazil: Sao Paulo (EB); Parana; Santa Catarina; Rio Grande Do Sul.

Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos sent me a paper in August 2015 which includes Dirphia dolosa in northeastern Argentina: Misiones.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths have been observed in January, June and September-October, suggesting three broods annually. Larval hosts are unknown.

Dirphia dolosa female, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
January 2, 1970, courtesy Kelly Price.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

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

Dirphia dolosa, Piratini, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil,
November, 2015, courtesy of Gustavo Gomes, id by Jhonatan Santos.

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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