Ptiloscola cinerea
Updated as per Lemaire's Ceratocampinae 1988, October 3, 2006
Updated as per personal communication with Carlos Mielke (Parana), April 2008
Updated as per personal communication with Ryan Saint Laurent (Holotype from The Smithsonian Insect Collection (USNM)); December 27, 2013
Updated as per personal communication with Diogo Luiz (female, Tingua, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 4, 2019); May 5, 2019

Ptiloscola cinerea
til-oh-SKOH-luhMsin-AIR-ee-uh
(Schaus, 1900) (Othorene)

Ptiloscola cinerea male, Brazil, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Ptiloscola cinerea male, 53mm, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
Entomo-Satsphingia

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke. Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Ceratocampinae Harris, 1841
was Citheroniinae Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894
Genus: Ptiloscola, Michener, 1949
Speces: cinerea, Schaus, 1900

DISTRIBUTION:

Ptiloscola cinerea (wingspan: males: 50-55mm; females: 59-71mm) flies in
Brazil: Pernambuco; Rio de Janeiro: Tingua (DL); Parana (CM); (probably Sao Paulo (WO?)); Santa Catarina and
northern Argentina, probably in chaco habitat.

Examination of genitalia is required to determine this species which is much like photophila.

Ptiloscola cinerea male, holotype,
The Smithsonian Insect Collection (USNM) courtesy of Ryan St. Laurent

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Ptiloscola cinerea flies in January and September, possibly with another brood in summer. If my id of the live female below is correct, there is also a May flight in Rio de Janeiro.

Larval hosts are unknown.

Ptiloscola comparison plate, from Entomo-Satsphingia 1 (1): 21 – 26 (April 2008), courtesy of Ron Brechlin.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adult Ptiloscola cinerea moths emerge from subterranean pupae, and males are slightly smaller than females.

Mating probably begins shortly after dusk with a calling period from 10:30 pm. to 1:00 am.

A light rainfall or mist seems to stimulate additional flight or eclosions resulting in more moths on the wing, or at least taken at lights, but overall this species is infrequent at lights and very erratic in flight when approaching.

Ptiloscola cinerea female, Brazil, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Ptiloscola cinerea female, Tingua, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
May 4, 2019, courtesy of Diogo Luiz, via Renato Mattei.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Night-flying females lay translucent green (DL) eggs on host plant leaves.

Larvae are well adorned with scoli and pupate underground in small chambers or among surface litter.

Care of larvae and pupae should be as for any Neotropical species.

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.

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

Return to Ptiloscola Index

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.

The genus name "Ptiloscola" comes from, 'Ptilo', meaning wing and 'scola', probably meaning twisted or crooked, perhaps refering to the irregular shape of the pm line.

The species name "cinerea" means grey and refers to the grey scaling of this species in the post median areas of all wings.