DISTRIBUTION:

Hylesia oratex (wingspan: males: 38-42mm; females: 48-55mm) flies in
Brazil: Minas Gerais; Rio de Janeiro; Sao Paulo; Parana.

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

The forewing is elongate with less contrasting veins compared to remex, and the postmedial line tends to be dark and broad.

The underside of the abdomen is yellow in both the male and female, and this moth is more brown than greyish black as in remex or maurex.

Hylesia oratex male, Brazil,
on my home computer only.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Larval host plants are unknown.

This species probably broods continuously on a three month cycle. Specimens are reported in January-April and again in September.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of the abdomen, and the night-flying males pickup and track the airbourne pheromone plume with their well-developed antennae.

Hylesia oratex female, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
January 22, 2010, courtesy of Larry Valentine, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Hylesia oratex female (verso), Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
January 22, 2010, courtesy of Larry Valentine, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

I had originally placed the female, above, on the remex page, but the yellow on the underside of the abdomen and the more washed out brownish ground colour of the wings leads me to believe it is more likely oratex.

I cannot rule out falcifera, although I believe falcifera has an abdomen that is black and winged with yellow, but I do not have a description of the ventral surface of the abdomen. The slightly produced forewing apex is suggestive of falcifera.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Hylesia oratex 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.

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