DISTRIBUTION:

Hylesia haxairei (wingspan: males: 40-49mm; females: 54mm) flies in
French Guiana: Kaw, Cayenne, Regina, Coralie, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni;
Venezuela: Bolivar (HT); and
Brazil: Para. It probably also flies in Guyana and Suriname.

Thus far this species has been reported at elevatons from 100-900m.

At the time of Lemaire' publication of Hemileucinae, 2002, there were five species/subspecies included in the SUBGROUP of Hylesia praeda:
Hylesia rufipes LT; Limon, Costa Rica; Nicaragua;
Hylesia praeda HT: near Loja, Ecuador; Panama; French Guiana; Guyana; Venezuela; Colombia; Peru and Brazil;
Hylesia praeda nigra HT: La Paz, Bolivia;
Hylesia index LT: Carabaya, Puno, Peru; Venezuela; eastern Ecuador; eastern Peru; Bolivia: Cochabamba;
Hylesia haxairei HT: Bolivar, Venezuela; French Guiana; Brazil: Para: Capitao Pauco.

As of 2016, Brechlin and Meister have expanded the group to 15 species. H. praeda nigra has been elevated to full species status as Hylesia nigra HT La Paz; Bolivia. Hylesia rubriprocta, HT eastern Colombia: Meta; probably Antioquia and Santander; formerly synonymized with praeda, is given full species status.

H. frederici HT Roura, Kaw, French Guiana and H. vassali HT Piste de Nancibo, French Guiana, formerly in a group of their own, are now in the Hylesia praeda subgroup.

Hylesia rufex LT Brazil: Minas Gerais; Rio de Janeiro; Santa Catarina; and Paraguay: Itapua and Guaira. has also been added to the subgroup.

Six new species have been added to the group based on DNA barcoding analysis:

H. praednapoana HT: Ecuador: Napo: Rio Hollin;
H. praedpichinchensis HT: Ecuador: Pichincha: Los Bancos;
H. praedjunensis HT Peru: Junin: San Ramon;
H. praedperuana HT Peru: Huanuco: Panguana; Cusco: Mandor and Asunsion; Madre de Dios: Puerto Maldonado and Malinosque and Salvasion;
H. praedguiana HT French Guiana: Cayenne: Kaw Mountainn area;
H. inducayalex HT Peru: Ucayali; Puerto Bermudes.

Visit Hylesia praeda Group: Comparison Table.

Hylesia haxairei, male, July 16, 1986, Bolivar, Venezuela,
100m, Claude Lemaire, on my home computer only.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in Januray, February, May, July, August, October and December, suggesting multiple broods. Larval hosts are unknown.

This species probably broods continuously on a three 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 haxairei 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.

Return to Hylesia Index

Return to 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 is honourific for Jean Haxaire.