DISTRIBUTON:

Gamelia abasia (wingspan: males: 44-58mm; females: 50-66mm // fwl: males: 25-27mm; females: ) flies in tropical rain forest in
Suriname (HT): (probably Sipaliwini, Brokopondo ??);
Guyana: Mazaruni-Potaro (probably Upper Demerara-Berbice, East Berbice-Corentyne ??);
French Guiana: Cayenne; Regina; Belizon; Saint Jean du Maroni (AC)
Ecuador: Esmeraldas, Pichincha, Bolivar, Los Rios, Canar, Sucumbios, Orellana, Napo, Morona-Santiago and Pastaza;
Venezuela: Delta Amacuro, Bolivar;
Brazil: Para, Amazonas, Alagoas;
Bolivia: Cochabamba, Santa Cruz;
Colombia: Choco, Valle, Cundinamarca;
Peru: Huanuco, Junin, Cusco, Madre de Dios, Puno; and possibly Loreto: Iquitos (AY)
at elevations from 350 - 1400 m.

With the advent of DNA barcoding analysis in 2008, many new Saturniidae species (Gamelia 2012, 2018) have been described. It may well be that true abasia is limited to the Guyana-Amazon Rain Forest Regions of Suriname, French Guiana, Guyana, central and eastern Venezuela, southeastern Colombia, northeastern Peru: Loreto, northwestern and northcentral Brazil, being replaced by numerous eastern and western Andean species in the other locations sited above.

I suspect the following possibly replace abasia in the stated locations:
1) G. abboyacensis: Boyaca and Cundinamarca and along the eastern Andean slopes in Colombia.
2) Gamelia rudloffi: Colombia: Magdalenatal; Tolima; Cundinamarca; and western Ecuador: Manabi; Esmeraldas; Imbabura; Pichincha.
3) Gamelia rudloffiana: Ecuador: Pichincha, Manabi, Esmeraldas, Imbabura, El Oro, Canar.
4) Gamelia tingomariana: Peru: Huanuco.
5) Gamelia napoloretensis: Peru: western Loreto; Ecuador: Napo; possibly most of east Andean Ecuador.
6) Gamelia lamilagrossa: Colombia: Magdalena.
7) Gamelia tamarae: eastern Colombia; Venezuela: Merida.
8) Gamelia argentina: Argentina: Salta.

There are additional similar species from East Andean Peru as well as from Bolivia.

It is also possible that abasia is sympatric with the new species in the areas originally included by Lemaire; another possiblity is that some of the newly designated "species" will later be detrmined as synonyms of abasia. Perhaps in my lifetime much of this will be sorted out, perhaps once larvae can be compared and inter "species" breeding attempts fail or succeed.

Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos sent me a paper in August 2015 which includes Gamelia abasia in northwestern Argentina.

Gamelia abasia male copyright Kirby Wolfe

Gamelia abasia male, Meta, Colombia, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Gamelia abasia male, Iquitos, Loreto, Peru,
August 4, 2008, courtesy of Alexey Yakolev, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Gamelia abasia (more likely pozuzana) male, courtesy of Victor Suter.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Luigi Racheli reports them on the wing in May and July in Ecuador. if my identification of the specimen from Iquitos, Peru, is correct, there is an August flight in that area.

Gamelia abasia larvae feed on Common guava (Psidium guajava).

Gamelia abasia female (more likely pozuzana) , courtesy of Victor Suter.

Gamelia abasia (female), Venezuela, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Gamelia abasia female, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Gamelia unknown female, Canal Zone, Colon, Panama,
57mm, September 17, 1977, courtesy of Albert Thurman,
unknown to Bill Oehlke

I (Bill Oehlke) feel the unknown from Panama is either abasia, rudloffi, Janzen03, and I favour Janzen03.

Gamelia septentrionalis light male,
(more likely abasia, Janzen03 or something undescribed, id by Bill Oehlke),
Golfito, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, 0-500m, May 4, 2008, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of their abdomens to "call" the males. Males use their antennae to hone in on the airbourne pheromone.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Gamelia abasia (more likely rudloffi) fourth instar, Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador, 1400m, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Larvae resemble Automeris species with their numberous urticating body spines. Larvae are gregarious. Image courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Gamelia abasia (more likely pozuzana) final instar, courtesy of Victor Suter.

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.

Psidium guajava....

Common guava

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

Return to Gamelia Genus

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Gamelia abasia male, Meta, Colombia, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.