DISTRIBUTION:

Paradaemonia samba (wingspan: males: 83-87mm; females: 115mm // Mfwl: 47-48mm; Ffwl: ) flies in damp tropical and equatorial woods in
Guyana: Omai;
Venezuela: Bolivar, Amazonas;
French Guiana: Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, Kourou, Cayenne, Tonate, Inini, Saul, P. Isnard;
Brazil: Goias, District Federal, Mato Grosso; in habitats with elevations between 150m and 900m.

Paradaemonia samba samba male, Brazil, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

The small size, blackish ground colour and dustings of silvery scales distinguish this species.

The antemedian line and the median band are simple and almost perpendicular to the inner margin.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been recorded in February and April. There might be additional flights.

Paradaemonia samba, female, Alto Paraiso, Goias, Brasil,
courtesy of Carlos Mielke. copyright--paratype

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Paradaemonia samba males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

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.

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 "Paradaemonia" chosen by Bouvier in 1925. It could be because these moths are so similar to "Dysdaemonia", a combination meaning 'bad spirit'.

The species name "samba" is the name of a lively Brazilian ballroom dance.

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