Dirphia somniculosa somniculosa

Dirphia somniculosa somniculosa
Cramer, 1777

Dirphia somniculosa somniculosa male, Peru,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

TAXONOMY:

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

DISTRIBUTION:
Dirphia somniculosa somniculosa (wingspan: males: 78-95mm; females: 109-129mm) flies in
western Ecuador: Esmeraldas and Pichincha;
western Colombia: Guarjira; Valle, and
northwestern Peru: Piura.
Early reports from Venezuela are probably of Dirphia somniculosa eximia as I believe this species is confined to the western slopes of the Andes. The stated type locality of Suriname is an error.
Male in typical resting pose, courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:
Moths are on the wing January, March, April, May, July, September, October, November, December, indicating continuous brooding. Larvae feed upon Arbutus unedo and Salix caprea in captivity.

Dirphia somniculosa, El Dorado, Santa Marta Mountains, Guarjira, Colombia,
February 19, 2014, courtesy/copyright of Janet Zinn.

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 laid in large clusters and larvae feed gregariously. Typical of the Subfamily Hemileucinae, Dirphia species all have urticating spines.
Image courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

Image courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

Dirphia somniculosa 5l, Alto Anchicaya, Valle, Colombia,
1000m, on my home computer only.

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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