DISTRIBUTION:

Psilopygida walkeri (wingspan: males: 35-44mm; females: 49-63mm // forewing length: males: 25.4-25.8mm; females: 30.9-31.9mm) flies in
Brazil: Pernambuco; Ceara: Tiangua (SB); Bahia; Para; Distrito Federal; Goias; Mato Grosso; Minas Gerais (LV); Rio de Janeiro; Sao Paulo; Rio Grande do Sul and probably Santa Catarina (confirmed by Alexandre Bianco: Urussanga);
Venezuela: Amazonas, Aragua, Carabobo: Palmichal, and Miranda possibly replaced in Venezuela by P. apollinairei);
Colombia: Meta; possibly replaced in Colombia by P. apollinairei);
Paraguay: Asuncion (CL), Concepcion, San Pedro, Canindeyu, Cordillera: Eusebio Ayala (SR), Caaguazu, Alto Parana, Paraguari, and (probably Central and Guaira, and possibly Caazapa and Itapua); and
Bolivia: Santa Cruz.

Psilopygida apollinairei, resurrected by Brechlin & Meister, 2011, to full species status, had earlier been synonymized with P. walkeri. The pinkish red suffusions are greatly reduced in apollinairei, known from Colombia and probably Venezuela.

Psilopygida walkeri male, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
January 25, 2010, courtesy of Larry Valentine,
id and slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Psilopygida walkeri male, Paraguay,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Psilopygida walkeri male, Tiangua, Ceara, Brazil,
January 30, 2017, courtesy of Sylvia Barroso.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Psilopygida walkeri moths are on the wing in January-February-March-April. Sergio Rios reports a May flight in Cordillera, Paraguay. Larry Valentine reports a January flight in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Specimens have also been taken in June and November-December in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Psilopygida walkeri female, 58mm, Eusebio Ayala, Cordillera, Paraguay, May 2009, courtesy of Sergio Rios.

Larvae probably feed on Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) and Acacia (Acacia farnesiana).

Eurides Furtado confirms Calliandra parviflora as a natural host.

Psigida walkeri had been proposed for the biological control of the invasive tropical weed Mimosa diplotricha in Australia. The wide potential host range and especially the risk to native Australian Neptunia species led to a decision not to release this potential biological agent in Australia. Native Pacific island plant species may also support P. walkeri.

Psilopygida walkeri male, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
January 25, 2010, courtesy of Larry Valentine,
id and slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Psilopygida walkeri male, Paraguay,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Psilopygida walkeri male (verso), Paraguay, courtesy of Ulf Drechsel; PYBIO

Psilopygida walkeri male (verso), Palmichal, Carabobo, Venezuela,
courtesy of Anakin Silva.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Female Psilopygida walkeri moths extend a scent gland from the posterior tip of the abdomen to call in the night flying males which become active around 11:30 pm.

Psilopygida walkeri female, Pelotes, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil,
January 25, 2021, courtesy of Jardel Wachholz.

Psilopygida walkeri female, copyright protected, Kirby Wolfe

Psilopygida walkeri in copula, Brazil,
courtesy of J.T.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Females deposit translucent green, slightly flattened, spherical eggs, banded with very pale green, on the undersides of foliage. Developing larvae can be seen through the egg shells.

Psilopygida walkeri eggs, Paraguay, courtesy of Ulf Drechsel; PYBIO

Mature larvae descend tree trunks to pupate in underground chambers. Development from egg to adult moth can take as few as 35 days in the case of P. walkeri.

Psilopygida walkeri larva, copyright protected, Kirby Wolfe

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.

Gleditsia triacanthos....... Acacia farnesiana Calliandra parviflora....... Mimosa diplotricha

Honey locust Acacia Calliandra parviflora Mimosa

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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.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Psilopygida", but "Psilo" in Greek means bald, and "pygida" probably refers to the moths' posterior.

The species name "walkeri" is honourific for Walker.

Psilopygida walkeri female, Urussanga, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
March 6, 2017, courtesy of Alexandre Bianco.

Visit Psilopygida walkeri additional images.