DISTRIBUTION: The day-flying (males) Ithomisa kinkelini moth (wingspan: males: 84-106mm; females: 103-106mm) flies in Argentina: Buenos Aires and possibly Entre Rios, Corrientes and Misiones, and in Brazil: Parana, and possibly further to the north, and in Rio Grande do Sul (PB) and probably Santa Catarina. The basal area is reddish brown, while the median and postmedian areas are white, and the outer margins are dark brown. Ithomisa kinkelini courtesy of Pablo Wagner, Argentina.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in February and perhaps in other months. Ithomisa larvae eat Paepalanthus polyanthus and Eryngium penicillatum.

Ithomisa kinkelini male, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil,
questionable location data, courtesy of Philippe Brems.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Day-flying (9:00 am - 5:00 pm) males use well-developed antennae to seek out females which scent during the day but fly at night.

Ithomisa kinkelini male, Argentina, courtesy of Franz Ziereis copyright.

Regarding the above moth, it is a better match for Lemaire's picture and description of I. catherina (described from the states of Minais Gerais, Parana and Santa Catarina in Brazil, but not from Argentina) than it is for I. kinkelini, (described from Parana, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina).

I looked at Lemaire's drawings of the genitalia and see (no expertise on my part) only minor differences and believe the two "species" may actually be variations of the same species.

Subsequently Franz was able to send me an image of a worn specimen. Scales are apparently lost very easily, revealing a good match for I. kinkelini.

Ithomisa kinkelini worn male, Argentina, courtesy of Franz Ziereis copyright.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Females deposit oval, white eggs with a greenish tinge on host plant foliage.

Larvae may be either green with black intersegmental spaces or black with green intersegmental spaces. In both cases they are equipped with short pink scoli and spines.

Typical of species in the Genus Ithomisa and the Subfamily Hemileucinae, the larvae are armed with urticating spines.

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.

Paepalanthus polyanthus......

Paepalanthus polyanthus

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