DISTRIBUTION:

Hyperchiria incisa incisa (wingspan: males: 64mm; females: // forewing length: males: 27-31mm; females: 38-44mm) flies in
southeastern Brazil: Espirito Santo; Rio de Janeiro; southeastern Minas Gerais (LV); Sao Paulo: Serrada Cantareira (RS) and Tapirai (EB); Parana (CM); Santa Catarina: Alfredo Wagner (AC); Rio Grande do Sul; and
Argentina: Misiones (RF).

Hyperchiria incisa incisa, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine.

Lemaire, 2002, does not list H. i. incisa from Argentina, but the image from Misiones, Argentina, is a good match for his description of that species, paraphrased as follows.

The male forewing is elongated with a rounded, produced apex. The outer margin is deeply concave just below the apex, but then becomes slightly convex all the way to the anal angle.

Ground colour ranges from light grey to yellowish-beige. It can also be light yellow with a shade of black on the outer margin of the submarginal band.

There are often minute black dots on the wing veins. The am and pm lines are yellowish brown or blackish, both being relatively straight and the pm being quite preapical. There is a sinuate submarginal band and a faint median band subparallel to the pm line.

The narrow, oval cell marking is concolourous, but is sometimes outlined or highlighted with black scaling.

Larry Valentine sends images of larvae and adults from Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Hyperchiria incisa incisa verso, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine.

Hyperchiria incisa incisa verso, Tapirai, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
March 23, 2018, courtesy of Enio Branco, id by Bill Oehlke.

Hyperchiria incisa incisa, Tapirai, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
March 23, 2018, courtesy of Enio Branco, id by Bill Oehlke.

Either this is a very variable species, some of my identifications are wrong, or there are more than one species on this page.

Visit additional Hyperchiria incisa incisa images.

Hyperchiria incisa incisa, Araras, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
April 9, 2016, courtesy of Wenilton Daltro, id by Bill Oehlke.

Hyperchiria incisa incisa male, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Hyperchiria incisa male, Alfredo Wagner, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
November 7, 2016, courtesy of Americo Chini, id by Bill Oehlke.

Hyperchiria incisa incisa male, 64mm, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
Entomo-Satsphingia Jahrgang 5 Heft 1 11.04.2012; on my home computer only.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are probably at least three generations annually with peak flights in January-April, June-July and September-October-November. Hyperchiria incisa larvae eat Berberis lauina, Cassia corymbosa, Celtis spinosa, Fagus, Ficus benjamina, Laburnum, Platanus orientalis, Quercus, Quercus ilex and Serjania.

Hyperchiria incisa (female), Brasil, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Hyperchiria incisa (female), Serrada Cantareira, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
courtesy of Roberto Sousa, id by Bill Oehlke.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use well-developed antennae to seek out females which scent at night. Females are active from 10:00 pm until midnight; males are active from 10:30 pm until 1:00 am.

Hyperchiria incisa incisa fifth instar, Misiones, Argentina,
courtesy of Reinhard Foerster, tentative id by Bill Oehlke,
confirmed by Carlos Mielke.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Typical of species in the Genus Hyperchiria and the Subfamily Hemileucinae, the larvae are armed with urticating spines. Hyperchiria incisa larva copyright Kirby Wolfe. If my identification of the moth and larva from Misiones, Argentina, are correct, then this species feeds on "Myrocarpus frondosus, común name: incienso, Indian name: Ibirá payé," according to Reinhard Foerster.

Hyperchiria incisa incisa fifth instars, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Larry Valentine.

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.

Berberis lauina Cassia corymbosa Celtis spinosa Fagus Ficus benjamina Laburnum Myrocarpus frondosus (RF) ....... Platanus orientalis Prunus laurocerasus Quercus Quercus ilex Salix Serjania

Barberry Autumn senna Hackberry Beech Benjamin tree Bean tree Ibirá payé Oriental sycamore Kirschlorbeer Oak Holly/Holm oak Willow Serjania

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