DISTRIBUTION:

Dirphia horca (wingspan: males: 63-68mm; females: 77mm) flies in eastern Ecuador: (Napo, Azuay, Morona-Santiago, Zamora Chinchipe (CL)), and Tungurahua (HK) and probably Pastaza (WO?); and in
Peru: San Martin, Amazonas; at elevations of 1200-1800m.

Dirphia horca has a light brown to yellow stria inside the upper "tong" of the creamy white "fork" in the median area. The same colouration occurs at the junction with the antemedian line.

Dirphia horca male, Rio Topo, Tungurahua, Ecuador,
March 21, 2007, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Dirphia horca male (verso), Rio Topo, Tungurahua, Ecuador,
March 21, 2007, courtesy of Horst Kach.

The wing pattern on the specimens from Tungurahua is a very good match for Lemaire's description of Dirphia horca. I do notice, however, that the antennae of the Peruvian specimen seem to be darker, longer and fuller than what appears to be straw yellow antennae in the Tungurahua specimen. These differences may be just the result of the camera lighting and the positioning of the antennae.

The image below from Napo, courtesy of Pia Oberg, is closest to Dirphia horca, but it is not a perfect match. The inner projection of the cream-coloured cell mark does not even come close to the am line. Perhaps that is a variable character. Perhaps DNA barcoding will show additional Dirphia species in the area.

Dirphia horca male, Wildsumaco Lodge, Napo, Ecuador,
January 15, 2012, courtesy of Pia Oberg.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths have been taken in January, March and October, suggesting at least two broods. Larval hosts are unknown.

The thickness of the stria in Rodolphe's image below is more characteristic of D. horca, but Rodolphe's specimen seems to lack the yellow tipped intersection with the am line.

Dirphia horca??, resting male, Ecuador, courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use highly developed antennae to locate females at night by tracking her airbourne pheromone plume. 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. 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. Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page. Return to Dirphia Genus Goto South American Saturniidae Directory Goto Main Saturniidae Index Return to Dirphia Index 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 "horca", possibly comes from the Spanish word for fork and might refer to the thick, creamy white 'fork' in the median area.