DISTRIBUTION:

Periga cynira (forewing length: males: 33-40; females: 41-46mm) flies in
Surinam: ;
Venezuela: Bolivar;
Guyana: Oronoque River;
French Guiana: Cayenne, Regina, Kaw, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Sinnamary, Inini, Saul, Belizon; and
Brazil: Para, Rondonia.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in January, May and November-December, suggesting at least two broods annually.

Larvae feed on Astronium gracile, Carpinus betulus, Fagus, Lithraea brasiliensis, Quercus, Robinia pseudoacacia, Urera alceifolia and Urtica urens.

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.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are probably deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Periga cynira 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.

Astronium gracile Carpinus betulus Fagus Lithraea brasiliensis Quercus Robinia pseudoacacia....... Urera alceifolia Urtica urens

Astronium gracile European hornbeam Beech Aruera Oak Blacklocust/False acacia Urera alceifolia Small stinging nettle

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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 "cynira" is possibly ?? for Cyniras, the first legendary king of Cyprus. He is the founder of the worship of Aphrodite with Paphos, and is regarded as the introducer of civilization in Cyprus. Cynira is also a surname and may have been chosen by Cramer in honour of a collector from South America.

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

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