DISTRIBUTION:

Rothschildia hesperus (wingspan: males: 127mm; females: 138mm) flies in northeastern Ecuador: Sucumbios, Napo, Orellana and Morona Santiago, and probably Pastaza; and in Venezuela: Barinas and Bolivar; French Guiana: Kaw; Guyana; Suriname; Brazil: Amazonas, Para, Ceara and Goias; Colombia: El Putumayo; Vaupes; and Peru: Amazonas (LTR), Loreto, Junin (VI), Pasco (EvS) and Huanuco and probably San Martin. This is a large species with bright orange or yellow ground colour. It is distinguished from moths in the orizaba group by the entirely white prothoracic collar in hesperus. R. hesperus, Huanuco, Peru, courtesy of Juan Chavez.

Brechlin & Meister recently, 2012, synonymized subspecies betis with nominate hesperus. They have also synonymized R. maurus lutea with nominate hesperus. It is obvious to me that I have specimens on the lutea file that are obviously not hesperus, so I will have to relocate them after I make determinations.

Rothschildia hesperus male, Mitu, Vaupes, Colombia,
November 27, 2011, courtesy of Shirley Sekarajasingham,
id by Bill Oehlke.

Visit Rothschildia hesperus images of spread male (recto and verso) and spread female (recto and verso) and pair, Napo Province, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Visit Rothschildia hesperus female, hatchlings, fourth and fifth instars, cocoon, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Visit Rothschildia hesperus images of live and spread male, Coviriali, Junin, Peru, courtesy of Vladimir Izersky.

Visit Rothschildia hesperus hesperus male, French Guiana, courtesy of Andres Urbas.

Rothschildia hesperus, Brownsberg, Brokopondo District, Suriname, August 2004, courtesy of Personal Museum of Natural History. I (Bill Oehlke) am not 100% sure of this determination. The moth is quite similar to Rothschildia aurota which is also reported in Suriname. Frederic Beneluz confirms that this is the true Rothschildia hesperus hesperus male.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

FGS reports a November flight in French Guiana. There are probably additional flights. Vladimir Izersky reports a June flight in Junin, Peru, at elevation of 662m.

In captivity Ligustrum (privet) is commonly used as a hostplant but Prunus armeniaca and ailanthus also serve well.

Rothschildia hesperus hesperus male, Ecuador, courtesy of Alan Marson

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Like most of the Rothschildia, except for the diurnal zacateca, this species calls and pairs at night. The female (below) has wings less falcate than the males.

Rothschildia hesperus female courtesy of Leroy Simon

Rothschildia hesperus hesperus in copula, Apuya Ridge, Napo, Ecuador,
(male in foreground), October 22, 2014, courtesy of Martin L. Schwartz.

Rothschildia hesperus hesperus in copula, Apuya Ridge, Napo, Ecuador,
(antennae comparison, male in background), October 22, 2014, courtesy of Martin L. Schwartz.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Final instar larvae are quite striking with their black and white banding and orange, spiracular ovals. Image courtesy of Leroy Simon. The tightly woven, cylindrical cocoon, with its built in escape valve, hangs a couple of inches from foodplant twig by a strong peduncle.

Rothschildia hesperus hesperus fourth instar red form on Croton matourensis, French Guiana,
courtesy of Frederic Beneluz.

Rothschildia hesperus hesperus fifth instar red form on Croton matourensis, French Guiana,
courtesy of Frederic Beneluz.

Rothschildia hesperus hesperus fifth instar green form on Croton matourensis, French Guiana,
courtesy of Frederic Beneluz.

"I never found the "red" forms on others plants used by this sp. locally (over all Rutaceae: Xanthoxyllum, Citrus etc.)."

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..... Citrus Croton matourensis Ligustrum Prunus armeniaca Prunus serotina Xanthoxyllum

Chinese tree of Heaven Citrus (FB) Tabaquillo-Tablero (FB) Privet Plum wild/Black cherry Zanthoxyllum (FB)

Rothschildia hesperus male courtesy of Leroy Simon

Rothschildia hesperus female, French Guiana, courtesy of Carlot Didier.

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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.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

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

The species name, hesperus, is the name for the planet Venus as the evening star.

Rothschildia hesperus male, Pasco, Peru,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck, id by Bill Oehlke.

Rothschildia hesperus hesperus male, French Guiana,
127mm, courtesy of Frank Meister, on my home computer only.

Rothschildia hesperus female, Pasco, Peru,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck, id by Bill Oehlke.

Rothschildia hesperus hesperus female, Amazonas, Peru,
138mm, courtesy of Frank Meister, on my home computer only.

Rothschildia hesperus betis, pair, Peru, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

Many thanks to Sousa Mrc for the following image which I have tentatively identified as Rothschildia hesperus.

Rothschildia hesperus hesperus male, Horizonte, Ceara, Brazil,
March 9, 2017, courtesy of Sousa Mrc, id and digital repair by Bill Oehlke.