Saturniidae of Suriname

Suriname is generally under-reported as far as Saturniidae species are concerned. I think the female of Gamelias berliozi remains unkown to science, but males have been reported in both Guyana and French Guiana, so berliozi is likely also in Suriname.

The image is a pretty good match for Lemaire's Hemileucinae, 2002 image of a female from Para, Brazil, and Lemaire does list abas as having a presence in Suriname. I note in the image above the fw pm line is very straight, slightly concave in Lemaire, image, the the forewing outer margin seems more convex in Tim's image, but possibly within the range of normal varriation.

Suriname is situated in the north of South America. It borders French Guiana in the east, Brasil in the south, Guyana in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the north, and has an area of 163,265 square kilometres (63,064 square miles). The country contains many rivers and some mountains (highest point 1280 metres). The larger part of the country consists of uncultivated rain forest.

Nearly all 386,372 inhabitants of Suriname (1990 count) live within a 30 km wide coastal region. The capital Paramaribo lies about 20km south of the coast at the west bank of the Suriname river. It has 150,000 inhabitants.

Suriname has a tropical climate, with daily temperatures varying between 23 and 31 Centigrades. The year can be roughly divided in two rain seasons (April-August and November-February) and two dry seasons (February-April and August-November).

Saturniidae reporting from Suriname probably grossly understates the numbers of species present. Much more detailed reporting is had from French Guiana to the east and Guyana and Venezuela to the west.

"One of the world's few remaining large blocks of pristine rainforest--covering 80 percent of the South American country of Suriname--is up for sale. Between 1993 and 1995, the Suriname government began negotiations with several Asian timber conglomerates to make 25 to 40 percent of the country's land area (7 million to 12 million hectares) available for logging. The government reportedly plans to sell off these forests at a fraction of their potential value, and likely at considerable future environmental and social cost, to provide a short-term fix for its desperate economic situation.

"As of December 1995, none of these agreements had been signed, however, and considerable controversy continues in the National Assembly.

"In many areas of the world, forests shrink as growing rural populations move in to clear new land for agriculture. Such pressures do not seem significant in Suriname. The country's total population of about 400,000 is growing at a rate of less than 2 percent per year. Annual deforestation during the 1980s averaged just 0.1 percent, one eighth of the average rate in the tropics during this period.

"What threatens Suriname's forests is a fiscal crisis: with growing unemployment and a 500 percent annual inflation rate, the government is looking for new sources of income to offset declining revenues from its bauxite mining industry, currently the major source of export earnings. Timber consortiums from Malaysia, Indonesia, and China have offered investment packages of more than $500 million (almost equal to the country's total annual gross domestic product) for access to remote, untouched forests in the country's interior. Most of the profits would go to the companies.

"A recent World Resources Institute (WRI) study on forest policy in Suriname found that the government would lose between 41 and 86 percent of potential revenue from logging, depending on how honestly companies report their profits.

"This offer of economic relief comes with hidden social and environmental costs. The forest areas proposed for logging concessions are inhabited by thousands of indigenous people who make a subsistence living within the forest. Experience in other countries suggests that many of these people would lose their homes and their way of life if tribal lands are opened up to such development.

"Suriname's forests are also home to a rich array of plant and animal species. A consortium of conservation and pharmaceutical interests is exploring Suriname's little-studied forests, looking for wild species useful in combating cancer and other diseases. Large-scale logging puts biodiversity at risk and forces the forfeiture of other benefits, including the potential for ecotourism development, a major source of revenue in nearby countries with rainforests, such as Costa Rica and Belize. Logging would give rise to other environmental costs, for example, the siltation of watersheds, changes in local climate, and soil erosion--a particular risk given that much of the forest concessions are located in areas with hilly terrains."

OXYTENINAE Sometimes the Oxyteninae are treated as Oxytenidae, a family distinct from Saturniidae; sometimes they are treated as Oxyteninae, a subfamily of Saturniidae. Asthenidia lactucina Oxytenis angulata Oxytenis ferruginia Oxytenis mirabilis Oxytenis modestia Oxytenis peregrina

ARSENURINAE Copiopteryx semiramis steindachneri courtesy of Thibaud Decaens. Those species and subspecies followed by a "*" are listed by Lemaire in his Arsenurinae, 1980. Species reported from either Venezuela (V) or Guyana (G), with a confirmed report also from French Guiana (F), have been added to Lemaire's (*) listing, followed by my initials (WO), indicating I suspect the species flies in Suriname. If you have corrections or additions, or especially images of larvae and/or adults not currently depicted, please forward them to oehlkew@islandtelecom.com Many thanks to Johan van't Bosch (JvB) who provides images and data for species not previously reported from Suriname. Arsenura albopicta F, V (WO) Arsenura armida * A. batesii arcaei (JvB) Arsenura beebei F, G, V (WO) A. p. guianensis F, G (WO) Arsenura sylla sylla * A. thomsoni F, G, V (WO) Copiopteryx jehovah F, V (JvB) Copiopteryx s. semiramis * Dysdaemonia boreas * G. lineata F, V (JvB) P. p. platydesmia F, V (WO) Para. samba F, G, V (WO) Para. terrena F, G, V (JvB) Rhes. hermes F, G, V (WO) Rhes. h. hippodamia * Titaea t. amazonensis * Titaea lemoulti F, V (WO)

SATURNIINAE: ATTACINI Rothschildia erycina male, courtesy of Kirby Wolfe. Those species and subspecies followed by a "*" are listed by Lemaire in his Attacinae, 1978. Rothschildia e. erycina * R. hesperus hesperus * R. aurota aurota *

SATURNIINAE: SATURNIINI Copaxa marona male, French Guiana, courtesy of Jean-Yves Malmasson. The species followed by a "*" is listed by Lemaire in his Attacinae, 1978. Copaxa marona ?

CERATOCAMPINAE: Those species and subspecies followed by a "*" are listed by Lemaire in his Ceratocampinae, 1987. Adeloneivaia boiduvalii ? Adel. catoxantha catoxantha ? Adeloneivaia jason jason ? Adeloneivaia kawiana JvB Adeloneivaia subangulata ? Adelowa. eugenia TT Adelowa. plateada F.G., G, V Adelowa. torresi F.G., V. Cicia pelota * Citheronia aroa ? C. hamifera hamifera ? Citheronia phoronea * Citioica anthonilis F.G., V. Eacles acuta ?WO Eacles barnesi * Eacles i. cacicus * Eacles guianensis F.G., G, V E. masoni fulvaster * Eacles penelope * Oth. purpurascens JvB Oth. hodeva JvB Psilopygoides oda RSL Ptiloscola photophila * Schausiella polybia * Schausiella subochreata * Syssphinx molina

HEMILEUCINAE Dirphia avia larva, copyright protected, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens. Those species and subspecies followed by a "*" are listed by Lemaire in his Arsenurinae, 1980. Species reported from either Venezuela (V) or Guyana (G), with a confirmed report also from French Guiana (F), have been added to Lemaire's (*) listing, followed by my initials (WO), indicating I suspect the species flies in Suriname, but I have no confirmed reports. Ancistrota plagia * Automerina auletes * Automerina cypria * Automerina vala ? Automeris amoena amoena * Automeris annulata F, G WO Automeris arminia * A. balachowskyi F, V WO A. cinctistriga F, G, V WO A. curvilinea JvB Automeris duchartrei F, V WO Automeris egeus * Automeris fletcheri F, V WO Automeris godarti F, V WO Automeris hamata F, V WO Automeris innoxia F, G WO Automeris janus F, V WO Automeris larra F, V WO Automeris liberia * Automeris midea F, G, V WO Automeris moresca F, V WO Automeris orestes NC * Automeris themis F, G, V WO Automeris watsoni F, V WO C. apunctata F, G, V WO Cerodirphia speciosa * Dirphia acidalia * Dirphia avia * Dirphia docquinae (JvB) Dirphia lemoulti F, V WO Dirphia radiata F, G, V WO Dirphia tarquinia * Gamelia abas * Gamelia abasia F, G, V WO Gamelia berliozi F, G WO Gamelia rindgei F, G, V ?? Gamelia rindguayana ?? H. (H.) guianex H. (H.) jongerlingi Hylesia aenides F, G, V WO Hylesia annulata F, G, V WO Hylesia canitia * Hylesia cedomnibus * Hylesia cottica * Hylesia ebalus * Hylesia gigantex orbana * Hylesia gyrex F, G, V WO Hylesia haxairei F, V WO Hylesia indurata * Hyl. melanostigma F, V WO Hylesia metabus * Hylesia murex * Hylesia nanus * Hylesia olivenca * Hylesia pallidex * Hylesia praeda F, G, V WO Hylesia teratex * Hylesia umbrata * Hylesiopsis festiva * Hyperchiria aniris ? Hyperchiria nausica * Leucanella maasseni * Lonomia descimoni ? Lonomia achelous achelous * Lonomia camox ? Periga cynira * Periphoba augur (JvB) Periphoba hircia * Pseudautomeris irene * Pseudaut. lata F, G, V WO Pseudautomeris salmonea * Pseudodirphia agis * Pseudodirphia eumedide *

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