The following Hylesia species are synonymous with or equivalent to H. ebalus: bolivex, ernestonis, lilex, macellex, margarita, minasia, polyploca, purpurex and wagneri.

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

DISTRIBUTION:

Hylesia ebalus (wingspan: males: 34-45mm; females: 47-62mm) flies in
French Guiana: Tonate, Montsinery, Cayenne, saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Macouria, Kourou, Nancibo;
Surninam;
Guyana: East Demerara-West Coast Berbice, Georgetown;
Venezuela: Bolivar, Amazonas, Monagas, Distrito Federal, Aragua, Tujillo;
Colombia: Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Cauca;
Peru: Puno, Junin;
Bolivia: La Paz, Santa Cruz;
Brazil: Paraiba, Para, Amazonas, (probably/possibly ?? Ceara), Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Distrito Federal, Goias, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Parana;
and Paraguay: Paraguari, Guaira, Cordillera, and probably Caaguazu. I suspect it also flies in Misiones Province and in Formosa Province in northeastern Argentina.

Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos sent me a paper in August 2015 which includes Hylesia ebalus in northeastern Argentina.

It has been taken at elevations from 160-2000m.

Variations occur as dark brown to purplish or purplish-brown specimens, and often these darker specimens have much more prominent dark markings.

Hylesia ebalus (male), Venezuela, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species flies in May and from July until at least October in Venezuela, suggesting multiple broods. Larry Valentine sends me the following darker specimens, taken in January 2013.

Hylesia unknown 1a, (possibly ebalus) Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine. tentative id by Bill Oehlke

Hylesia unknown 1b, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine

Hylesia unknown 1c, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine

Hylesia unknown 1d, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine

Hylesia unknown 1e, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine

Larvae feed on Melastomataceae: Tibouchina holosericea.

Hylesia ebalus (female), Venezuela, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the posterior tip of the abdomen to call in males. Female to the right courtesy of Bernhard Jost.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage. Hylesia ebalus larvae are highly gregarious and have the urticating spines typical of larvae from the Subfamily Hemileucinae.

Mature larvae descend the host plant and spin a cocoon in leaf litter, under rocks or in crevices. Pupation takes place within three or four days.

Hylesia ebalus courtesy of Viktor Suter, via Bernhard Wenczel.

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

Tibouchina holosericea......

Glory bush

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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.

I suspect the species name is probably honourific for Ebalus of Aquitaine.