DISTRIBUTION:

Gamelia rubriluna (wingspan: males: 66mm; females: larger) flies in tropical rain forests of the Amazon Region, especially in
Venezuela: Bolivar, Zulia;
Guyana: East Demerara West Coast Berbice, Mazaruni Potaro;
Peru: San Martin, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Amazonas (ESs);
Bolivia: La Paz, (probably Pando and Beni (WO?));
Brazil: Amazonas, Mato Grosso;
Colombia: ; and
Ecuador: Napo, Morona-Santiago and probably Pastaza; at elevations from sea level to 1350 m. Lemaire (Hemileucinae 2002) also reports them from Venezuela and Amazonas in Brazil, with a questionable record from as far east as East Demerar West Coast Berbice in Guyana.

I believe the specimen directly below confirms rubriluna's presence in Acre, Brazil.

Gamelia rubriluna male, Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil,
June 1, 2019, courtesy of Rafael Almeida, id by Bill Oehlke.

Gamelia rubriluna male, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

This species is indistinguishable from G. abas, which flies to the east in Guyana, Surinam and French Guyana, except by examination of genitalia.

Gamelia rubriluna male, 66mm, Amazonas, Peru,
Entomo-Satsphingia Jahrgang 5 Heft 1 11.04.2012; On my home computer only.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Gamelia rubriluna larvae probably feed on Common guava (Psidium guajava).

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:

Larvae resemble Automeris species with their numberous urticating body spines. Larvae are gregarious.

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

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.

In Greek mythology "Gamelia" is another name for Hera.

The species name "rubriluna" is descriptive of the "red moon" on the hindwing.

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