DISTRIBUTION:

Ormiscodes amphinome (=marginata) (wingspan: males: 45-58mm; females: 58-70mm) flies in
Chile: Talca; Concepcion; Bio-Bio; Malleco; Llanquihue; Isla de Chiloe; Magallanes and in
Argentina: Neuquen; Rio Negro; Chubut; Tierra del Fuego.

Thus far it has been recorded at elevations from 40 to 1000m.

Dorsal thorax is orange brown with many buff coloured hairlike scales. Abdomen is yellowish with black rings, which often give the appearance of a continuous broad, longitudinal band (i.e., almost completely black), with a yellowish anal tuft.

The forewing is slightly elongate with a slightly convex outer margin. Black am and pm lines are thin but distinct, the aml being very angulate, and the pm line, broadly preapical and undulating. Facing sides of these two lines may be with or without suffusions of whitish scales.

The forewing basal area and inner third of the postmedian area are a uniform orangey-brown.

The discal cell is variable in size and colour (rusty yellow to white), and is usually surrounded by a suffusion of darker, greyer scales, as is the entire median area.

The subterminal band usually has an outer suffusion of darker, greyer scales, followed by an outward tracing in grey-white with the heaviest suffusion of terminal area darker grey scales where the terminal area is at its widest.

Catocephala vulpina, O. latifasciata and O. marginata are synonyms for amphinome. Amydona humeralis and Bombyx hyadesi are same as amphinome.

Ormiscodes amphinome male, Puerto Natales, Magallanes, Chile,
February 10, 1987, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Ormiscodes amphinome is probably single brooded throughout most, if not all, of its range (possibly two generations/annum in northern Chile). Adults are likely on the wing from January to June with larvae evident between March and October. The moth has been taken in November in Neuquen. Due to variable weather/climatic conditions, egg incubation times vary considerably, and that may be reason for the wide range of flight dates.

Ormiscodes amphinome female, Puerto Natales, Magallanes, Chile,
February 10, 1987, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of the abdomen, and the night-flying males pickup and track the airbourne pheromone plume with their well-developed antennae.

Adults rest during the day on the foliage or trunks of pines or other hosts, flying only at night. Both males and females respond to light.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

This pest overwinters as small (2 mm long), oval eggs in rings around branches and needles of infested trees.

Eggs can be found most commonly during the summer in masses usually of 200 to 300 eggs.

Incubation lasts 49 to 120 days.

Early instar larvae typically feed gregariously, beginning near the top of the tree and proceeding downward, completely defoliating smaller pines. Late instar (six instars) larvae become more widely dispersed on host trees and understory vegetation.

Pines, willows and poplars seem to be target trees.

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.

Cupressus Juglans regia Nothofagus obliqua Nothofagus glauca Populus nigra Pinus radiata Pseudotsuga menziesii........ Salix Schinus latifolius Schinus molle various fruit trees Chilean shrubs

Cypress English walnut Beech Beech Black poplar Monterey pine Douglas fir Willow Peppertree California peppertree various fruit trees Chilean shrubs

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Ormiscodes amphinome amphinome female, Rio Negro, Argentina,
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