DISTRIBUTION:

Hylesia gigantex orbana (wingspan: males: 44-54mm; females: 62-73mm) flies in
French Guiana: Camopi, Kaw, Cayenne, Regina, Coralie, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, Saul;
Suriname: Marowijne;
Venezuela: Amazonas;
eastern Ecuador: Sucumbios, Orellana, Napo, Morona-Santiago and probably Pastaza; and
Peru: Loreto, Huanuco.

This species is taken at elevations from 100m to 1800m, but seems more common at lower elevations.

Hylesia gigantex orbana, male, Claude Lemaire, on my home computer only.

The thorax is dark brown with many grey hairs. The abdomen is dark with yellow hairs. The forewing apex is not produced; the outer margin is straight. Ground colour is grey with a purplish tint. The white am line is very irregular and is broken by the dark grey wing veins giving it somewhat of a segmented appearance. The line often disappears in worn specimens. The very thin, dark pm line is s-shaped and is outwardly bordered in thin greyish-white, broken by the dark wing veins. There is a prominent whitish spot below the apex and the lower half of the terminal area is paler than the rest of the wing. The black discal marking is prominent.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in January, February, April, May, August, September, October and December, suggesting a continuous brooding pattern. Larvae have been reared by Kirby Wolfe on oak.

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 deposited clusters on hostplant foliage.

Hylesia gigantex orbana larva copyright Kirby Wolfe

Hylesia gigantex orbana fifth? instar, Camp Caiman, French Guiana,
July 18, 2010, courtesy of Ott Maasikas, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Hylesia gigantex orbana fifth? instar, Camp Caiman, French Guiana,
July 18, 2010, courtesy of Ott Maasikas, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Hylesia gigantex orbana fifth? instar, Camp Caiman, French Guiana,
July 18, 2010, courtesy of Ott Maasikas, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Hylesia gigantex orbana fifth? instar, Camp Caiman, French Guiana,
July 18, 2010, courtesy of Ott Maasikas, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Hylesia gigantex orbana larvae are 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.

Quercus .......

Oak (Kirby Wolfe)

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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 is derived from the especially large size of the female.

The subspecies 'orbana' is smaller than the nominate subspecies, but I do not know the reason for the name; it probably has its roots in Roman mythology.

Hylesia gigantex orbana male, Coralie, French Guiana,
January 26, 2003, A. Cloud, French Guiana Systematique,
on my home computer only.

Hylesia gigantex orbana female, Coralie, French Guiana,
January 29, 2003, A. Cloud, French Guiana Systematique,
on my home computer only.