DISTRIBUTION:

Oxytenis modestia (wingspan: males: 60-64mm; females: 72-75mm) flies in neotropical Central and South America from
Mexico and Honduras (JYM) to
Colombia: Caqueta (LRRV), (Putamayo and Nariono (WO?));
French Guiana St. Elie, Barrage Petit Saut, Crique St. Leon, (probably Sinnamary, St. Elie (WO?));
Ecuador: Sucumbios and Esmeraldas, etc., and;
Brazil; and probably in many other locations. Ezequiel Bustos confirms this species in Argentina.

In Costa Rica this species has been taken from sea level to 1200m, but it seems more common at lower elevations.

In some taxonomies, the Oxyteninae are treated as a distinct family (Oxytenidae) rather than as a subfamily of Saturniidae.

Oxytenis modestia male, Brazil, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Oxytenis modestia male, Brazil, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Oxytenis modestia male, Costa Rica, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

This species can be extremely variable in Costa Rica: Alajuela, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose. I believe it also flies in Panama.

Oxytenis modestia, December, Limon, Costa Rica, courtesy of Otso Reunanen.

Oxytenis modestia male, Darien, Panama, courtesy of Dr. Arthur Anker, STRI,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are at least three generations of the Oxytenis modestia moth annually with adults on the wing with peak flights in January-February, again in June, and then again in October-November. FGS reports moths on the wing February-March-April in French Guiana.

This moth probably broods continuously.

Larvae feed upon Alibertia edulis, Genipa americana and Lindenia rivalis.

Photo courtesy of Annette Aiello, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

This species shows sexual dimorphism with the male having concave outer forewing margins while the female (above) exhibits a convex pattern. Males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night. Activity at lights, with both species being attracted, usually begins shortly before midnight and continues until 2:30 am.

Oxytenis modestia male, May 21, 2007, La Bonita, Sucumbios, Ecuador,
courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Oxytenis modestia male (verso), May 21, 2007, La Bonita, Sucumbios, Ecuador,
courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Eggs are ellipsoid, translucent, green, fading to yellow with maturity, and the developing larva can be seen through the egg shell. Incubation lasts five days.

First instar larvae are very small, pale, with long setae, and blend in with leaf surface debris.

In the next two to four instars, larvae resemble bird droppings with the fourth-fifth instar larva, depicted, darker than the earlier instars and having larger brown chalazae, resembling fig seeds. Larval images are courtesy of Annette Aiello, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá.

"Eyespots" on the fifth or sixth instar (whichever is last) larvae, which exhibit both green and brown colour morphs, are suggestive of the Papilionidae, while the anal horn resembles the Sphingidae.

The laterally flared thoracic segments are unusual amongst the Saturniidae. Adult wing venation, larval behaviour and morphology are often sited as reasons for placing the Oxytenis species in their own family (Oxytenidae) distinct from the Saturniidae.

Larvae spend three to six days in each instar. Some larvae pass through five instars while others experience six instars.

Like some Sphingidae, the modestia larvae pupate amongst damp leaf litter in a liquid produced along with a few strands of stretchy, reddish silk, binding some surface leaves.

Moths eclose from pupae in as few as ten days from pupation date, but usually develop in twelve to fourteen days.

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.

Alibertia edulis Genipa americana....... Lindenia rivalis.

Trompillo / Purui pequeno Genipapo / Ta / genipa / jagua blanca Lindenia rivalis

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Pictures and information are from

1997. Aiello, A., and M.A. Balcázar. The immature stages of Oxytenis modestia (Cramer), with comments on the mature larvae of Asthenidia and Homoeopteryx (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae: Oxyteninae). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 51(2): 105-118.

The following image(s) may or may not appear on your monitor, depending upon whether or not I get permission from respective photographers/owners to display them. I do have permission for my own private use.

Oxytenis modestia female, Crique St. Leon, French Guiana,
February 26-March 4, 2002, collection of Robert Vande Merghel,
photo copyright Rene Lahousse, French Guiana Systematique.