DISTRIBUTION:

Leucanella lynx (wingspan: males: 95-107-116(TS)mm; females: 116mm) flies in the Andean region in medium altitude forests of 1700 - 3000m from
Ecuador: Pichincha, Napo, Tungurahua, Morona-Santiago, Zamora Chinchipe (LR) and possibly Pastaza; to
Bolivia: Cochabamba: Chapare and possibly La Paz; and
Peru: Cajamarca, Amazonas, San Martin, Junin, Pasco (HM), probably Huanuco, Cusco and Puno; predominantly (not exclusively) on the eastern slopes of the Andes.

The hindwing eyespots of this species tend to be smaller (with a single pupil) than in similar species, while the yellow-white-copper ring is broader. Hindwing ground colour is dark grey to black. The forewing cell mark is relatively large and subcircular, without a white dot in its center, or at best a very miniscule white dot.

Leucanella lynx male, Peru, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in January-February-March-April, June and September-October-November-December, suggesting at least three broods annually.

Leucanella lynx larvae probably will eat Ligustrum. Dan Zieher is reporting early success with apple. Bernhard Wenczel reports no success with Ligustrum (privet), but indicates he has had success with Salix, Prunus and Cornus.

Leucanella lynx male, 116mm, Napo, Ecuador,
December 2002, courtesy of Terry Stoddard, id by Bill Oehlke.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Leucanella lynx female copyright Kirby Wolfe

Leucanella lynx male, Peru, copyright Bernhard Wenczel

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Relatively large white oval eggs are laid in clusters and larvae, which have urticating spines, feed gregariously.

Leucanella lynx larva copyright Kirby Wolfe

The cocoon is probably brown, sturdy, leaf-wrapped and affixed to a twig or stem.

Visit Leucanella lynx, male, female, instars one through five, 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.

Cornus Ligustrum...... Malus Prunus Salix

Dogwood Privet Apple Cherry Willow

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 "lynx" was probably chosen to reflect the similar appearance of the hindwing eyespots to the eyes of a lynx.

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