DISTRIBUTION:

The Rhescyntis hippodamia moth (wingspan: males: 128-172mm; females: 138-157mm) flies in damp tropical and equatorial woods from
Costa Rica (possibly just subspecies norax) to
Venezuela: Sucre, Bolivar, Territorio Delta Amacuro;
Guyana: Kartabo;
Surinam;
Brazil: Amapa, Para, District Federal, Goias;
Colombia: Caqueta, Amazonas (RTN), probably throughout eastern Colombia; also possibly in Choco??;
eastern Ecuador: Napo (common (LR)), Morona-Santiago, and probably Pastaza and Orellana;
Peru: Loreto and Amazonas (LTR), Huanuco, Madre de Dios, and probably Cusco (FM) and probably San Martin, Pasco and Puno;
Bolivia: La Paz (LA), Cochabamba, Santa Cruz; and
French Guiana: Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Kourou, Riveire Orapu, Kaw, Cayenne; in habitats with elevations between 150m and 1000m.

Specimens are taken at lights in eastern Brazil and along the Amazon to mid continent at elevations from 200-1000 m above sea level.

Rhescyntis hippodamia hippodamia, Cusco, Peru, courtesy of Faviola Montes.

Rhescyntis hippodamia hippodamia, Las Tangaras, Choco, Colombia,
1650m courtesy of Joakim Johansson.

The female from Las Tangaras, Choco, Colombia, is a bit of a surprise. Perhaps the location sited is in error. Lemaire indicates Rhescyntis hippodamia colombiana flies in Choco, and in western Colombia, but the specimen from Las Tangaras lacks the dark marking at M1 that is supposed to differentiate colombiana from the nominate subspecies.

Visit Rhescyntis hippodamia hippodamia Estacion Cientifica, Yasuni National Park, Napo, Ecuador, May 1, 1997, 350m, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

Nominate hippodamia and R. pseudomarti have an alternation of darker and lighter areas on the forewings, absent in R. hermes and R. descimoni. R. hippodamia can be distinguished from pseudomarti by the simple forewing median band in hippodamia as compared to the obvious triple or quadruple lines in the band of pseudomarti. Rhescyntis hippodamia, French Guiana, from http://www.ibs-t.net/lepidoptere/.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are probably at least two generations annually with peak flights in February and then again in June-July in Peru. FGS reports them on the wing in February and November in French Guiana. Vincent reports them on the wing in March in Cayenne, French Guiana. Rodrigo Torres Nunez reports an April 23, 1991, flight in Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia.

They have been taken in western Bolivia (La Paz) in January-February (LA).

Rhescyntis hippodamia hippodamia, Cayenne, French Guiana, March 18, 2010.

Rhescyntis hippodamia hippodamia, female, Taipiplaya, La Paz, Bolivia,
January-February, 2007, 810m, courtesy of Lars Andersen,
id and digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Rhescyntis hippodamia hippodamia, female, Taipiplaya, La Paz, Bolivia,
January-February, 2007, 810m, courtesy of Lars Andersen,
id and digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Rhescyntis hippodamia hippodamia, male, Taipiplaya, La Paz, Bolivia,
January-February, 2007, 810m, courtesy of Lars Andersen,
id and digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Rhescyntis hippodamia larvae feed on Virola bicuhyba, Virola koschnyi, Virola ucuuba and Ligustrum.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Rhescyntis hippodamia males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night.

Most activity at lights takes place from 11:00 pm until 3:00 am.

Rhescyntis hippodamia male, French Guiana, courtesy of Carlot Didier.

Rhescyntis hippodamia female, French Guiana, courtesy of Carlot Didier.

Rhescyntis hippodamia hippodamia female, Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia,
April 23, 1991, 144mm, courtesy of Rodrigo Torres Nunez.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

The eggs are round and flattened much like those of Antheraea polyphemus. Dark banding is also present. Image courtesy of Angelo Santin.

Early instar Rhescyntis hippodamia larvae are equipped with unusual "horns". Image courtesy of Angelo Santin.

This third instar image reveals the horns in a typical resting pose.

Mature larvae descend tree trunks to pupate in subterranean chambers. The larva depicted to the right (lateral and dorsal views) is feeding on Virola koschnyi in Costa Rica.

Hopefully the decimation of the tropical rainforests will not reach the point where many plants and animals become extinct.

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.

Virola bicuhyba....... Virola koschnyi Virola ucuuba Ligustrum.

Sangre Sangre Sangre Privet

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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.

I do not know the source of the genus name 'Rhescyntis' chosen by Hubner in 1819.

The species name 'hippodamia' is from Greek mythology. Hippodamia, the daughter of Oenomaus, wished to marry Pelops, so she persuaded Myrtilus, son of Hermes, to help Pelops win the chariot race against her father, according to Apollodorus.