DISTRIBUTION:

Rothschildia anikae (wingspan: males: 113-125mm; females: 119-136mm; forewing length: males: 70-72mm; females: ??) flies in
western Ecuador: Esmeraldas, 2007-12-01, 350m; to
Mexico: Chiapas.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in Ecuador in December (Mirror). There are probably additional flight months.

Foodplants are unknown.

Rothschildia anikae PT male, 113mm, Esmeraldas, Ecuador,
Frank Meister, on my home computer only.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use their more highly developed antennae to seek out females who release an airbourne pheromone into the night sky.

Rothschildia anikae AT female, 118mm, Esmeraldas, Ecuador,
Frank Meister, on my home computer only.

Rothschildia anikae PT female, 136mm, Chiapas, Mexico,
Frank Meister, on my home computer only.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters of 6-40+ on hostplant twigs. Larvae have urticating spines and are gregarious, especially in the early instars.

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the anticipated 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.

"Rothschildia" is chosen to honour one of the Rothschilds, possibly William.

The species name "anikae" is honourific for Anika Meister.

This page is designed and maintained by Bill Oehlke as part of the World's Largest Saturniidae Site.