DISTRIBUTION:

Rothschildia aricia (wingspan: males: 120mm: females: 155mm (RTN)) flies in
Venezuela: Merida (2500m), Trujillo, Aragua, Carabobo, Yaracuy, probably Tachira;
Colombia: Valle del Cauca, Nariono, Cundinamarca (RTN) and Caqueta and probably Cauca.

Rothschildia aricia xanthina, Colombia, courtesy of Rodrigo Torres Nunez,
120mm, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

This species has an orange-ochre or a mahogany brown ground color.

The "Aricia Group" now (2012) consists of the following species:
aricia aricia; Colombia and northwestern Venezuela: Merida, Trujillo, Aragua, Carabobo, Yaracuy;
aricia napoecuadoriana; Ecuador: Napo, Morona Santiago;
aricia ariciopichinchensis; Ecuador: Pichincha;
interaricia; Peru: Huanuco, Pasco, Junin, Amazonas;
xanthina xanthina; Peru: Cusco;
xanthina paraxanthina; Bolivia: Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, La Paz.

Members of this group may be hard to determine by just looking at images. Geography might be the best indicator.

Rothschildia aricia aricia

Roths. aricia napoecuadoriana

Roths. aricia ariciopichinchensis

Rothschildia interaricia

Roths. xanthina paraxanthina

Rothschildia xanthina xanthina

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

I recently received an electronic image of a male taken at 2500m in Merida, Venezuela, in mid January.

Rodrigo Torres Nunez reports an April 18, 2008, flight in Cundinamarca, Colombia.

Rothschildia aricia aricia female, Cundinamarca, Colombia,
155mm, April 18, 2008, courtesy of Rodrigo Torres Nunez.

This species will probably accept Ligustrum (privet), lilac, ailanthus and oak.

Rothschildia aricia subspecies male, Bogota, Colombia,
courtesy of Daniella Cualla.

I am not sure if the image directly above from Bogota is nominate aricia, one of the other subspecies, or an undescribed subspecies. Based, solely on location, it is most likely aricia aricia.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Like most of the Rothschildia, except for the diurnal zacateca, this species calls and pairs at night.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

It is interesting to watch Rothschildia fashion their cocoons. A strong peduncle with a few support silk strands secures the structure while the larva continues "padding its nest" with a continuous back-and-forth movement of the head.

There are both inner and outer cocoons, each with a relatively long valve to facilitate eclosions.

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.

Ailanthus altissima..... Ligustrum Quercus Syringa vulgaris

Ailanthus Privet Oak Common lilac

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Return to Rothschildia Index

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.

The genus name "Rothschildia" probably was chosen to honour W. Rothschild.

The species name "aricia" comes from mythology. Aricia is a minor goddess who ruled the prophetic visions sometimes experienced in wild places far from human habitation.