Dirphia mielkeorum
Updated as per Some New Saturniidae species from Peru, Stefan Naumann, U. Brosch, B. Wenczel, September 6, 2006

Dirphia mielkeorum
DIRF-ee-uhMMEEL-kee-or-um
Naumann, Brosch, & Wenczel, 2005

Dirphia mielkeorum male, Cusco, Peru, 800-1200m, Rainer Marx

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 mielkeorum (wingspan: males: 77mm; females: larger // forewing length: males: 35-41mm; females: probably larger) flies in
eastern Peru: Cusco, Amazonas, Madre de Dios at elevations from 480-1200m. It probably also flies in the provinces of San Martin, Huanuco, Pasco, Junin and Ucayali.

Dirphia mielkeorum male, 77mm, Madre de Dios, Peru,
on my home computer only.

The rounded forewing has an almost uniform light grey ground colour with an irregular row of brown patches in the postmedian area. The median area has the typical dark brown field with the white Y-shaped marking having a thin brown bar in the upper section. The costa also has a brown section in the median region, sometimes joined with the brown field, sometimes distinct.

The hindwing has an orange basal area with a 5mm lenticular black dot.The wing shows dark and light grey regions in the median and postmedian areas.

The ventral surface of all wings is a uniform ochreous grey.

The moth is very similar in appearance to Dirphia aculea and Dirphia subhorca.

Dirphia mielkeorum male (verso), Cusco, Peru, 800-1200m, Rainer Marx

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in January, April-May-June and August-September, suggesting at least three broods. Larval hosts are unknown.

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 probably 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.

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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 "mielkeorum", is honourific for Carlos Guilherme C. Mielke and his father Prof. Dr. Olaf H. H. Mielke from Carambei, Parana, Brazil.