Periga bispinosa
Updated as per Lemaire's Hemileucinae 2002, November 26, 2005
Updated as per French Guiana Systematique, February 2008

Periga bispinosa
purr-EE-guhmmbye-spin-OHS-uh
(Lemaire, 1972) Lonomia (Periga) bispinosa

Periga bispinosa pair, Iturralde (Bolivia), courtesy of T. Decaëns & G. Lecourt.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Tribe: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Genus: Periga, Walker, 1955

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DISTRIBUTION:

The Periga bispinosa moth (forewing length: males: 33-36mm; females: 36-43mm) flies in the South Andean region of
Peru: Loreto, Huanuco, Junin, Madre de Dios, Puno;
Bolivia: La Paz, Beni;
Ecuador: Morona-Santiago; and
Brazil: Para; in low to medium elevation andean forests (200 - 1500 m).

It might also fly in French Guiana: Belizon (FGS?).

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in February-March, May-August and November-December, suggesting at least three broods annually. Larval hosts are unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Some males show a different wing pattern.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Periga bispinosa larvae are highly gregarious and have the urticating spines typical of larvae from the Subfamily Hemileucinae.

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.

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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 "Periga" chosen by Walker in 1855.

The species name "bispinosa" indicates "the two narrow superposed apical spines" on the uncus (part of male genitalia).

This page is designed and maintained by Bill Oehlke as part of the World's Largest Saturniidae Site.

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.

Periga bispinosa?? male, Belizon, French Guiana,
February 2001, collection of Daniel Prin, photo copyright Rene Lehousse,
French Guiana Systematique.

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