DISTRIBUTION:

Periga acuta (wingspan: males: 47-57mm; females: 56-65mm // forewing length: males: 24-30mm; females: 34-37mm) flies in
Brazil: southeastern Minas Gerais; Rio de Janeiro; Sao Paulo; Parana; Santa Catarina; at elevations of 800-2000m.

This species belongs to the Periga circumstans group and this species is quite similar to Periga circumstans, but differs from circumstans and from caraca, alticola and pulchra by the combination of the following characters: acute forewing apex and prominent yellow spots on all wings in submarginal area.

Males have a brownish-orange to yellowish-brown ground colour, while the female is reddish brown. The forewing outer margin is straight to slightly convex. The apex is acute but is not produced. The white discal spots are not prominent, and the forewing pm line is almost apical and slightly concave, and is inwardly bordered with greyish white. There are contrasting yellowish spots in the pm area, and the hindwing anal angle is produced.

Periga acuta, Alfredo Wagner, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
February 29, 2016, courtesy of Americo Chini, id by Bill Oehlke.

I think this is a relativley common species.

Possibly Periga circumstans with elongated forewing apices,
more likely Periga acuta described in 2013,
Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil, May 31, 2009,
courtesy of Larry Valentine, tentative id by Bill Oehlke

Possibly Periga circumstans with elongated forewing apices,
more likely Periga acuta described in 2013,
Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil, May 31, 2009,
courtesy of Larry Valentine, tentative id by Bill Oehlke

The above specimens, however, lack the yellow postmedian spots characteristic of acuta, and we cannot see if they have the produced anal angle typical of acuta.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in January-February-March-April-May, October-November-December. 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.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are probably deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Periga acuta larvae are probably 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 "acuta" is indicative of an acute apex.

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