DISTRIBUTION:

Rothschildia jorulloides flies from low levels to 2000m in the dry areas of
western Ecuador: Esmeraldas LTR, Manabi, Los Rios, Guayas, Canar and Loja, and possibly in El Oro and Chimborazo, and in
northwest Peru: Cajamaroa??, and probably Lambayeque (confirmed by Eric LoPresti and Rainer Marx); and Piura.

Rothschildia jorulloides male, Motupe, Lambayeque, Peru,
courtesy of Eric LoPresti, id by Bill Oehlke.

Rothschildia jorulloides male, Motupe, Lambayeque, Peru,
courtesy of Eric LoPresti, id by Bill Oehlke.

This species has a dark, almost black ground colour. There are white scales on the hindwings on the inner side of the subapical spots. There are also some golden yellow spots mixed in with the usual lavender on the outer third of the wings.

Rothschildia jorulloides male copyright Kirby Wolfe

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Rainer Marx sent a photo of three males and one female from Motupe, Lambayeque, 800m, collected February 19, 2017. There may be additional flight months.

Rothschildia jorulloides, Motupe, Lambayeque, Peru,
February 19, 2017, 800m, courtesy of Rainer Marx;
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

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

Rothschildia jorulloides female, copyright Kirby Wolfe

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Rothschildia jorulloides male, Peru,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Rothschildia jorulloides male, Peru,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

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.

Rothschildia jorulloides early instars, copyright Kirby Wolfe

Rothschildia jorulloides larva copyright Kirby Wolfe

Rothschildia jorulloides larva, Peru, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Viktor Suter.

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

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

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.

I do not know the etymology of the species name, jorulloides, but there is a volcano called El Jorullo in Mexico, and Rothschildia jorulloides resembles Rothschildia jorulla.