DISTRIBUTION:

Hylesia subcottica (wingspan: males: 34-39mm; females: 43-57mm // forewing length: males: 16-18mm, females: ) flies in
French Guiana: Kaw, Cayenne, Coralie;
Venezuela: Yaracuy;
Ecuador: Sucumbios, Napo, Morona-Santiago and probably Pastaza;
Peru: Loreto, Huanuco, Cusco;
Brazil: Para, Amazonas, Rondonia, Bahia, (possibly Ceara), Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Parana, probably Mato Grosso WO?); and
Argentina: (Tucuman tentative (Claude Lemaire)) and probably provinces of Salta, Jujuy, Formosa, Chaco and Santiago del Estero), and probably in Paraguay.

I am pretty sure the image sent to me from Yacutinga, Misiones, Agentina, by Ezequiel Bustos, is Hylesia subcottica ( now Hylesia submisiones ).

Hylesia subcottica?? ( probably Hylesia submisiones ) male, Yacutinga, Misiones, Argentina,
September 11, 2010, courtesy of Ezequiel Osvaldo Nunez Bustos,
tentative id, and some digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Ezequiel writes, "I forget to send these two Hylesia species, but I believe the male is neither nigricans nor remex. I don´t sure what species is it. It is from Yacutinga, at 11/09/2010.

"The second is a female of Hylesia nigricans (posted on nigricans page) from Río Carabelas, Delta del Paraná (Buenos Aires), at 15/01/2010."

The thorax is brown and the abdomen is orange. The brown forewings are elongate with a very slightly produced, rounded apex. The am line is indistinct from a dark basal area, while the two outer lines (postmedial and subterminal), are fused, forming a wide bar, parallelling the oblique outer margin. The cell mark is large and darker than surroundings in a lighter median area. There is a pale suboval patch just below the forewing apex, followed by a darker region and then a lighter, diffuse, wide bar in the subterminal area.

The hindwings are without markings except for faint cell mark.

A very large number of new Hylesia species names were put forward in 2016 by Brechlin & Meister or Brechlin & Kaech as belonging to the Hylesia (H.) cottica group which now consists of the following species:

Hylesia (H.) cottica Schaus, 1932; Suriname and Guiano-Amazonian region; probably French Guiana, Venezuela, northern Brazil:
Hylesia (H.) cotmetex Brechlin & Meister, 2016; Colombia: Meta: Restrepo, 910m and Villavicencio, 540m
Hylesia (H.) cotcuscex Brechlin & Meister, 2016; Peru: Cusco: Mandor, 890m; Junin: Satipo, 660m
Hylesia (H.) paracotex Brechlin & Meister, 2016; Peru: Cusco: Mandor, 890m
Hylesia (H.) cotsucumbex Brechlin & Kaech, 2016; Ecuador: Sucumbios: Berejo Tecpetrol, 660m

Hylesia (H.) cotecuarex Brechlin & Kaech, 2016; Ecuador: Napo: Hollin, 1320m; Morona Santiago: San Carlos de Limon, 940m and Mendez, 480-700m; Pastaza: NE Puyo, 1070m; Brazil: Rondonia: Cacaulandia, 350m
Hylesia (H.) cotmandorex Brechlin & Meister, 2016; Peru: Cusco: Mandor, 200-890m and Encruzihado, 600m

Hylesia (H.) ileana Schaus, 1932; Mexico, Guatemala; El Salvador
Hylesia (H.) ilhondurex Brechlin & Meister, 2016; Honduras: Santa Barbara: Campamento el Nispero
Hylesia (H.) ilsantandex Brechlin & Meister, 2016; Colombia: Santander: road Barbosa to Cimitarra, 1150m; Antioquia: San Luis: Vereda Filo de Ambre, 770m; Boyaca: Otanche - Puerto Boyaca, 680m; Cundinamarca: via Guaduas - Honda, 1260m
Hylesia (H.) cotandex Brechlin & Meister, 2016; Peru: Huanuco: Yuyapichi: Panguana, 200m; Junin: Satipo, 660m; Cusco: Mandor, 890m; Bolivia: La Paz: Cotapata, 1500m; Santa Cruz: Comarapa; Brazil: Espirito Santo: Santa Leopoldina, 750m; Ecuador: Napo
Hylesia (H.) penai Lemaire, 1988; Bolivia: La Paz: Inquisivi, Miguillas, 1800m

You are here: Hylesia (H.) subcottica Lemaire, 2002; Brazil: Rio de Janeiro: Mage, 160m; possibly replaced in other areas by new species: Venezueala: Yaracuy; Ecuador: Napo and Morona Santiago; Peru: Loreto: Aguatia and Huanuco: Tinga Maria and Cusco: Rd Cusco to Manu; Brazil: Para; Amazonas; Rondonia; Bahia; Mato Grosso do Sul; Minas Gerais; Parana
Hylesia (H.) subbahiana Brechlin & Meister, 2016; Brazil: Bahia: near Camacan, 200-750m, and Encruzilhado, 600m;
Hylesia (H.) submisionex Brechlin & Meister, 2016; Argentina: Misiones: Iguazo, 200m.

Many of the new species are very similar in appearance to cottica, ileana and subcottica. When DNA barcoding is impossible, i.e., only photos were taken with no capture, location may be the best indicator of species. There are some species, however, which are sympatric. Good luck!

Many of the images on this page were posted before 2016, and there is a good chance quite a few of them should be reassigned to newer species names from the group above. The Holotype for subcottica is Rio de Janeiro, and ESs depicts subcottica specimens from Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais. It could well be that subcottica is limited to southeastern Brazil. As more information becomes available, I will try to update this page. Please note, however, there are additional species outside to the cottica group which are also very similar to Hylesia cottica and Hylesia subcottica.

Specimens have been taken at elevations from 300 - 980m.

Hylesia subcottica male, on my home computer only.

Hylesia subcottica?? male, Tiangua, Ceara, Brazil,
January 16, 2017, courtesy of Sylvia Barroso, very tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Hylesia subcottica male, Itanhandu, southeastern Minas Gerais, Brazil,
November 9, 2010, courtesy of Larry Valentine,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke, could also be remex.

Hylesia subcottica male (verso), Itanhandu, southeastern Minas Gerais, Brazil,
November 9, 2010, courtesy of Larry Valentine,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke. could also be remex.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

If my identification of the specimen from Itanhandu is correct, there is a November flight in that area. Lemaire lists January and March flights in French Guiana; February and August flights in Rio de Janeiro; June, August-September and November-December flights in Peru, so the species probably broods continuously.

Larval hosts are unknown.

This species probably broods continuously on a three month cycle. Flight records exist for ??

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.

Hylesia frederici/umbrata/subcottica/tapareba ?? female, Amazone Nature Lodge, Kaw Rd6, French Guiana,
64mm, September 2018, courtesy of Roy Morris, very tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Hylesia subcottica female, 43mm, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
courtesy of Entomo-Satsphingia.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Hylesia subcottica 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.

Return to Hylesia Index

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

Hylesia subcottica male, on my home computer only.