Leucanella janeira
loo-kuh-NELL-uhMzha-NAIR-ruh
(Westwood, 1854) Saturnia

Leucanella janeira (male), Brasil, courtesy of Chris Conlan.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Tribe: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Genus: Leucanella, Lemaire, 1969

DISTRIBUTION:

Leucanella janeira (wingspan 85-95mm) flies in
southeastern Brazil: Rio de Janeiro; Sao Paulo; Santa Catarina: Alfredo Wagner (AC); Rio Grande do Sul and Parana (CM).

Leucanella janeira (male), Brasil, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Leucanella janeira male, Brazil, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are at least two generations each year with peak flights in February-March and in April-May.

Leucanella janeira larvae probably will eat Ligustrum and Rosa. Horst Kach has had success rearing them on oak.

Leucanella janeira (female), Brasil, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Leucanella janeira female, Parana, Brazil,
September 1, 2010, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Leucanella janeira female, Alfredo Wagner, Santa catarina, Brazil,
April 6, 2017, courtesy of Americo Chini.

Leucanella janeira female, Alfredo Wagner, Santa catarina, Brazil,
April 7, 2018, courtesy of Americo Chini.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use well-developed antennae to seek out females which scent at night from 10:30 until midnight.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are laid in clusters and larvae, which have urticating spines, feed gregariously.

Visit Leucanella janeira female and instars 2, 3, 5, 6 on oak, Brazil, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Leucanella janeira second instar, Brazil, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Leucanella janeira third instar, Brazil, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Leucanella janeira fourth instar, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Leucanella janeira fifth instar, Parana, Brazil, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Leucanella janeira fifth instar, Brazil, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Leucanella janeira sixth instar, Brazil, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

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.

Ligustrum ...... Quercus (HK) Rosa

Privet Oak Rose

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 "Leucanella" chosen by Lemaire in 1969. PERHAPS (pure speculation by Bill Oehlke) it was chosen for the "little light" spots surrounding the pupil in the type species leucane.

The species name "janeira" is probably for the specimen type locality of Rio de Janeiro.

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