DISTRIBUTION:

Hylesia colombex (wingspan: males: 36-39mm; females: 48-50mm) flies in
western Colombia: Valle; Choco; and
Ecuador: Pichincha and possibly Manabi; at elevations from 650m to 1400m.

The thorax is greyish brown. The abdomen is brown with some yellowish hairs and a yellowish-grey tuft.

The rounded forewings are mousy grey with lighter, very diffuse lines. The cell spot id also diffuse and darker than the surrounding off-white lines. The am line disappears before reaching the inner margin. The pm line is slightly convex. The diffuse submarginal band is also traced with slightly lighter off-white.

The mousy grey ground colour and diffuse, slightly lighter lines give this small moth a washed out appearance.

Hylesia colombex courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in February, May, June, August and October suggesting continuous brooding. Larval hosts are unknown.

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 colombex 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.

Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.

Return to Hylesia Index

Goto Mexico and Central American Saturniidae Directory

Goto South American Saturniidae Directory

Goto Main Saturniidae Index

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 colombex is derived from the specimen type locality in Colombia.