Hylesia andensis
hye-LEES-ee-uhmman-DENS-ihs
Lemaire, 1988

Hylesia andensis (male), Peru, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.
http://www.saturniidae-mundi.de/Oschayck/schayck.htm

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Tribe: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Genus: Hylesia, Hubner, [1820]

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DISTRIBUTION:

Hylesia andensis (wingspan: males: 42-47mm; females: 59-62mm) flies in
the mountains of Ecuador: Napo, Morona-Santiago, Zamora Chinchipe (LR), and probably Pastaza;
Peru: San Martin, Huanuco, Cusco;
Venezuela: Barinas; and
Bolivia: La Paz; at elevations of 1200m to 1900m.

Hylesia andensis male, Venezuela, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

The antemedial lines of Bernhard's specimen are much better delineated than indicated in the description by Lemaire.

The thorax is dark brown. The abdomen is black, sometimes lightly ringed with yellow. The greyish-brown forewing is elongated and apically produced
with well marked dark brown lines. The pm line is broadly preapical.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths have been taken in January, February, April, August and December in Ecuador. Larval hosts are unknown.

This species probably broods continuously on a three-four month cycle.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of the abdomen, and the night-flying males pick up and track the airbourne pheromone plume with their well-developed antennae.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are probably deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Hylesia andensis larvae are probably highly gregarious and have the urticating spines typical of larvae from the Subfamily Hemileucinae.

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.

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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.

I do not know the origin of the genus name Hylesia.

The species name andensis probably refers to the medium altitude habitat of this species on the eastern slopes of the Andes.