The image directly above has some features of inca subspecies in the more extensive pinkish white flares into the forewing and hindwing submarginal areas, but to my knowledge no inca subspecies have been reported on the western side of the Andes.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Attacini, Blanchard, 1840 Genus: Rothschildia, Grote, 1896

DISTRIBUTION:

Rothschildia lebecuatoriana eloroiana (wingspan: males: 101mm: females: 106mm // forewing length: males: 55-62mm; females: mm) flies in
Ecuador: Eloro; at elevations of 750m.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in January (PP), April and July. There are probably additional flight months.

Rothschildia lebecuatoriana eloroiana HT male, near Pinas, El Oro, Ecuador,
101mm, April 12, 2012, 750m, on my home computer only.

Rothschildia lebecuatoriana eloroiana male, near Pinas, El Oro, Ecuador,
April 9, 2019, 750m, on my home computer only.

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

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Rothschildia lebecuatoriana eloroiana AT female, near Pinas, El Oro, Ecuador,
106mm, April 12, 2012, 750m, on my home computer only.

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 anticipated 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. 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 male contempory/friend/collector/etc.

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

The species and subhspecies names, "lebecuatoriana eloroiana," are indicative of a similarity to R. lebeau and a specimen type locale in El Oro, Ecuador.