DISTRIBUTION:

Periphoba attali (wingspan: males: 58-65mm; females: probably larger // mfwl: 30-38mm; ffwl: larger) flies in arid regions of southwestern Ecuador: Loja: road from Catemayo to Porto Velo, near Guayquichuma, at elevations of 900m to 1200m.

This species is not as dark as P. nigra with regard to wing colour, but the antennae of Periphoba attali are black.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Male specimens have been taken in daylight in December. The female remains unknown. Larval hosts are unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

In January of 2019 Steve Ife sent the following image from Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador. It is likely either Periphoba nigra, the unknown female of Periphoba attali or an undescribed species.

Periphoba attali? female and eggs, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador,
January 19, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife.

Fortunately Steve has been rearing the emergent larvae which took three weeks to hatch on "our native blackberry, a species of creeping rubus" and has provided images. He has also had success offering them Himalayan blackberry.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Periphoba attali larvae are probably highly gregarious and have the urticating spines typical of larvae from the Subfamily Hemileucinae.

The long pair of posterior "spikes" and the more extensive anterior "spinage" are typical of mature Periphoba larvae.

Steve Ife writes, "Periphoba apparently spin a double walled cocoon. A loose outer layer and a clean thin inner cocoon. The pupa is Chestnut Brown and very glossy. This one is an inch and a half long and is a male. Larger that I thought it would be.

"The female larvae are significantly larger than those of the males, at least double the volume and size.

"I intend to keep these moist and warm and that should trigger emergence in a month or two. the rainy season lasts well into June at Guayaquil so I suspect there should be at least two broods a year."

Periphoba attali? hatchlings, Loja, Ecuador, February 9, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? first instars, Loja, Ecuador, February 12, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? second and third instars, Loja, Ecuador, February 27, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? third instars, Loja, Ecuador, February 21, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? third & fourth instars, Loja, Ecuador, February 27, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? fourth instar, Loja, Ecuador, March 7, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? fith instars, Loja, Ecuador, March 7, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? fifth instars, Loja, Ecuador, March 7, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? fifth instar, Loja, Ecuador, March 9, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? sixth instar, Loja, Ecuador, March 29, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? sixth instar (female), Loja, Ecuador, March 29, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? prepupal, Loja, Ecuador, March 29, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Steve writes, "Periphoba apparently spin a double walled cocoon. A loose outer layer and a clean thin inner cocoon. The pupa is Chestnut Brown and very glossy. This one is an inch and a half long and is a male. Larger that I thought it would be.

"The females are significantly larger than the males, at least double the volume and size."

Periphoba attali? cocoon, Loja, Ecuador, March 29, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

Periphoba attali? pupa, Loja, Ecuador, March 29, 2019, courtesy of Steve Ife

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.

Rubus ....... Rubus armeniacus .......

Blackberry Himalayan Blackberry

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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 "Periphoba" chosen by Hubner in 1820.

The species name "attali" is honourific for collector S. Attal.

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