Lonomia achelous
luh-NOH-mee-uhMak-eh-LOH-uhs
(Cramer, 1777) Phalaena Attacus

Lonomia achelous pair, Ecuador, copyright Kirby Wolfe

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Hemileucinae Genus: Lonomia, Walker, 1855 Species: achelous achelous, (Cramer, 1777)

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DISTRIBUTION:

Lonomia achelous achelous (forewing length: males: 33-41mm; females: 44-63mm) is widespread at elevations of 290-1100 meters (up to 1900m in Bolivia) in neotropical zones of South American damp equatorial woods. The specimen type locality is given as "West Indies". This species flies in
Bolivia: La Paz, Cochabamba;
Peru: Piura (BW), Loreto, Madre de Dios, Cusco, Puno;
Ecuador: Sucumbios, Napo, Pastaza, Morona-Santiago, Zamora Chinchipe;
Venezuela: Monagas, Bolivar, Territorio Delca Amacuro;
Trinidad: Caparo (Caroni), Port of Spain (near St. George), probably most of southern Trinidad;
Guyana: Georgetown (Demerara-Mahaica), probably Barima-Waini, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara; and
Suriname: Kintamina (probably coastal);
French Guiana: Nouragues: Heliport - Drop Zone, 4.088, -52.681, collected byMAS. Smith & R. Rougerie, 2011-01-29 (Mirror, possibly subspecies diabolus); and is probably also found in
Colombia: probably Casanare, Vichada, Meta, Guaviare, Caqueta, Putamayo;
probably French Guiana and possibly western Brazil.

Warning: Larvae of the Lonomia achelous moth have poisonous spines.

Forewing ground colour is quite variable, especially in the male, ranging from yellow to orange to red. Postmedial lines can be narrow or thick, and the forewing tip is sometimes rounded as with obliqua, otherwise it is pointed and the outer margin is somewhat concave.

Lonomia achelous Piura, courtesy of Bernhard Wencel.

Colour-wise, the very large females are almost as variable as the males. The basal median area is usually lighter than outer regions of the forewing.

Lonomia achelous female, Loreto, Peru,
September 13, 2008, courtesy of Shirley Sekarajasingham,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are at least three generations annually with moths on the wing in January-February and then again in May-June-July, followed by a third brood in October-November.

In the wild, larvae feed on Tapirira guianensis.

Erythrina crista-galli, Malosma laurina, Pyrus communis and Schinus terebinthifolius are also listed as hosts.

There is considerable variation regarding ground colour, especially in the male, where is ranges from yellow to orange to red. Post medial lines can be narrow or thick and occasionally the forewing tips are rounded as with obliqua.

Lonomia achelous pair, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use antennae to locate females at night by tracking their airbourne pheromone plumes.

EGGS LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Typical of the Subfamily Hemileucinae, Lonomia species all have urticating spines. This species is especially dangerous, possibly even deadly. Larvae have poisonous spines. Human contact can cause death. Larvae are gregarious and forest workers are especially susceptible to stings while handling wood or foliage. It is best to avoid this larva! The pupa is pale brown with faint yellowish stripes and measures 35-40 mm long. Lonomia achelous larva copyright Kirby Wolfe.

Listed below are the primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae and/or on various internet sites and/or in Lemaire's Hemileucinae, 2002. 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.

Erythrina crista-galli Malosma laurina Pyrus communis Schinus terebinthifolius....... Tapirira guianensis *

Fireman's cap/Cockspsur/Coral Tree Laurel Sumac Common pear Brazilian pepper-tree Patillo

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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.

Some of the early describers/namers chose genus and species names indicating some character of the insect, but more often, they simply chose names from Greek or Roman mythology or history.

Those species names which end in "ensis" indicate a specimen locale, and those which end in "i", pronounced "eye", honour a contempory friend/collector/etc.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Lonomia" chosen by Walker in 1855.

The species name "achelous" is from Greek mythology where Achelous is the deity of the river of that name, and ruler of all rivers.

This page is designed and maintained by Bill Oehlke as part of the World's Largest Saturniidae Site.