Dysdaemonia fosteri
diz-day-MOH-nee-uhFAWS-ter-eye
W. Rothschild, 1906

Dysdaemonia fosteri, Paraguay, courtesy/copyright Ulf Drechsel.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Arsenurinae, Jordan, 1922 Tribe: Arsenurini, Jordan, 1922 Genus: Dysdaemonia, Hubner, [1819] Species: fosteri, Rothschild

Dysdaemonia fosteri male, Salta, Argentina, courtesy of Entomo-SatSphingia II.

DISTRIBUTION:

Dysdaemonia fosteri flies in the dry South Andean mountains of
Bolivia: Santa Cruz; in
Argentina: Jujuy: Calilegua; Salta, Tucuman, La Rioja, Chaco (CM), Misiones (EB), and probably Catamarca, and
Paraguay: (UD) Alta Paraguay, Boqueron, President Hayes, Concepcion, San Pedro, Canindeyu, Cordillera, Caaguaza, Alto Parana, Guaira, Paraguari, Caazapa, Amambay: La Nina (SR) at elevations of 400 - 1200 m. Kirby Wolfe reports them from
southern Brazil: Sao Paulo: Avanhandava (AVB), and Tiago Barbosa reports them from Tapejara (400-515m), Parana, Brazil.

Dysdaemonia fosteri female, Avanhandava, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
January 1, 2014, courtesy of Alexander von Buldring.

The larger hindwing discal spot, ringed with dark brown or black, distinguishes this species.

Dysdaemonia fosteri male, Chaco, Argentina, courtesy of Carlos G. C. Mielke. copyright

Dysdaemonia fosteri female, Paraguay, courtesy of Carlos G. C. Mielke. copyright

There are many "subspecies", forms and colour variations, inclucing Dysdaemonia fosteri cortesi form viridis pictured below.

Dysdaemonia fosteri male, Osununu Private Reserve, Misiones, Argentina,
October 13, 2009, courtesy of Ezequiel Bustos.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Sergio Rios reports a February flight in La Nina, Amambay, Paraguay.

Nigel Venters reports a February flight in Calilegua, Jujuy, Argentina.

Tiago Barbosa reports December and February flights in Tapejara, Parana, Brazil.

Ezequiel Bustos reports an October flight in Osununu, Private Reserve, Misiones, Argentina.

Dysdaemonia fosteri male, Tapejara, Parana, Brazil,
February 24, 2019, 400-515m, courtesy of Tiago Barbosa.

Dysdaemonia fosteri male, Tapejara, Parana, Brazil,
December 27, 2018, 400-515m, courtesy of Tiago Barbosa.

Larvae feed on Chorisia speciosa and Samanea.

Dysdaemonia fosteri female, Calilegua, Jujuy, Argentina,
February 17, 2010, 1100m, courtesy of Nigel Venters.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night. Both sexes come in to lights from 11:30 pm until 2:00 am.

Dysdaemonia fosteri male, Paraguay, courtesy of Carlos G. C. Mielke. copyright

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are tan coloured, flattened spheres, with a thin, dark brown, line on the lateral surface.

Pupae are formed in a porous, dark brown cocoon.

In the earlier instars, larvae are equipped with enlarged thoracic horns and an anal horn, projections which are absent in the final instar.

Dysdaemonia fosteri eggs, Paraguay, courtesy/copyright Ulf Drechsel.

Dysdaemonia fosteri first instar, Paraguay, courtesy/copyright Ulf Drechsel.

Dysdaemonia fosteri second instar, Paraguay, courtesy/copyright Ulf Drechsel.

Dysdaemonia fosteri third instar, Paraguay, courtesy/copyright Ulf Drechsel.

Dysdaemonia fosteri fourth instar, Paraguay, courtesy/copyright Ulf Drechsel.

Dysdaemonia fosteri fifth instar (dorsal), Paraguay, courtesy/copyright Ulf Drechsel.

Dysdaemonia fosteri fifth instar (ventral), Paraguay, courtesy/copyright Ulf Drechsel.

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.

Chorisia speciosa..... Samanea

Floss-silk tree Rain tree

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 "Dysdaemonia" chosen by Hubner in 1819. It could be a combination meaning 'bad spirit'.

The species name "fosteri" is honourific for Foster.

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Dysdaemonia Summary, 2009