Leucanella manzanoi
loo-kuh-NELL-uhMman-ZAN-oh-eye
Brechlin, Kaech & Meister, 2013

Leucanella manzanoi male, Hauticocha, Orellana, Ecuador,
72mm, July 25, 2011, 530m, on my home computer only.

Leucanella manzanoi male, Puenta Azuela, Napo, Ecuador,
February 6, 1975, 1530m, on my home computer only.

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

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DISTRIBUTION:

Leucanella manzanoi (wingspan: males: 72mm; females: mm // forewing length: males: 37-41mm; females: mm) flies in
Ecuador: Orellana; Napo; Morona Santiago; at elevations around 530-1530m.

This moth replaces, in Ecuador, the L. newmani from Bolivia.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Thus far reports indicate moths are on the wing in February and July.

There are probably additional flight months.

Larval host is unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use well-developed antennae to seek out females which scent at night.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Eggs are laid in clusters and larvae, which have urticating spines, feed gregariously. Leucanella bolanosi larval hosts are "officially" unknown.

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the anticipated foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Salix .......

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 "manzanoi" is honourific for Ivan Manzano, a friend of Horst Kaech.

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