Saturniidae of Vietnam

Many thanks to Vu Van Lien of Vietnam who has provided many images or has supplied specimens to WLSS members who have supplied images.

Vietnam is bordered by the South China sea to the East and by Loas and Cambodia to the West. Some of the locations on the map are approximations. I will be adding locales as Vu Van Lien sends them to me.

I will also be adding some notes to the bottom of this page regarding differences/similarities of like species.

Salassa albocirculata Naumann, Loffler & Kohll, 2010 southern Vietnam
Salassa lemaii Le Moult, 1933 very large hyaline areas in ocelli, produced forewing apex
Salassa megastica Swinhoe, 1894 southern vietnam
Salassa tonkiniana Le Moult, 1933 Northern Vietnam
Salassa paratonkiniana Brechlin, 2009 Northern Vietnam
Salassa fansipana Brechlin, 1997 Northern Vietnam

Attacus atlas (Linnaeus, 1758)

Archaeoattacus edwardsii (White, 1859)

Samia canningi (Hutton, 1860)
Samia kohlli Naumann & Peigler, 2001
Samia wangi Naumann & Peigler 2001

Archaeosamia watsoni maybe ??

Rhodinia newara Moore, 1872
Rhodinia rudloffi Brechlin, 2001
Rhodinia grigauti Le Moult, 1933

Actias australovietnama Brechlin, 2000
Actias chapae chapae (Mell, 1950) northern, November-December
Actias chapae bezverkhovi Andrei V. Sochivko and Nicolai V. Ivshin southern Vietnam, April
Actias dubernardi (Oberthür, 1897)
Actias maenas (Doubleday, 1847)
Actias ningpoana C. Felder & R. Felder, 1862, Cao Bang (RC)
Actias parasinensis Brechlin, 2009
Actias rhodopneuma Röber, 1925 Kom Tum, Ha Giang, Chapa = Sa Pa (TB), Cao Bang (RC)
Actias selene (Hübner, 1806)
Actias sinensis (Walker, 1855), possibly it is A. parasinensis which flies in Vietnam

Saturnia (Rinaca) anna Moore, 1865, probably as subspecies diversa, Bryk, 1944
Saturnia (Rinaca) cachara Moore, 1872
Saturnia (Rinaca) lesoudieri (Le Moult, 1933)
Saturnia (Rinaca) naumanni Brechlin, 2001
Saturnia (Rinaca) simla Westwood, 1847
Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta Westwood, 1853
Saturnia (Rinaca) zuleika Hope, 1843
Saturnia (Saturnia) pyretorum Westwood, 1847

Loepa anthera Jordan, 1911
Loepa diffundata Naumann, Nassig and Loffler, 2008
Loepa diversiocellata, Bryk, 1944, now (2008) diffundata
Loepa katinka (Westwood, 1847), Ronald Brechlin
Loepa kuangtungensis Mell, 1938
Loepa megacore Jordan, 1911
Loepa miranda Moore, 1865
Loepa peggyae Brechlin, 2010
Loepa roseomarginata Brechlin, 1997
Loepa siamensis siamensis, Brechlin, 2010
Loepa sikkima subspecies

Cricula aungsansuukyiae Naumann & Loffler, 2010 = tonkintrifenestratoides northern Vietnam, Tonkin, Mt. Fan-si-pan, Sa Pa (= Chapa), 1600-1900 m., 22.20ºN, 103.40ºE
Cricula australovietnama Brechlin, 2010, southern Vietnam: Type locality: Vietnam, Plato Tay Nguyen, Mt. Ngoc Linh, 15º02'N, 107º59'E, 900-1400 m.
Cricula fansipanensis Naumann & Loffler, 2010, Huanglingshan, Fan Si Pan Mt., Shaba, 3000 m.
Cricula frederkingi Naumann & Loffler, 2010, Thua Thien-Hue, Kreis A. Luoi, Gemeinde A. Rong, Dorf Khe Cha Lenh, 809 m., 16º05.374'N, 107º27.559'E.
Cricula hoabinhnguyensis Naumann & Loffler, 2010 Vietnam, Banh Trach, ca. 5 km from Ba Be to Cao Bang.
Cricula hoffmanni Naumann & Loffler, 2010 southern Vietnam, Province Lam Dong, Bhu Son, Lam Ha, Regenwald, 1320 m., 11º55.079'N, 108º10.711'N.
Cricula jordani Bryk, 1944
Cricula sponai Naumann & Loffler, 2010, Thua Thien-Hue, Kreis A. Luoi, Gemeinde A. Rong, Dorf Khe Cha Lenh, 809 m., 16º05.374'N, 107º27.559'E.
Cricula tonkintrifenstratoides Brechlin, 2010 = aungsansuukyiae
Cricula trifenestrata Watson, 1913
Cricula vietnama Brechlin, Nässig & Naumann, 1999, Vietnam, Tonkin, Tam Dao, 60 km NW Hanoi, 900 m.

Antheraeopsis (Antheraea) castanea
Antheraea (Antheraeopsis) chengtuana (Watson, 1923)
Antheraea (Antheraeopsis) mezops (Bryk, 1944) mezops = junior synonymm of castanea 2008

Antheraea frithi tonkinensis (Bouvier, 1936)
Antheraea (Antheraea) larissoides (Bouvier, 1928)
Antheraea pedunculata (Bouvier, 1936)
Antheraea (Antheraea) platessa ornata
Antheraea roylii roylii Moore, 1859
Antheraea (Antheraea) (pernyi) roylii korintjiana Bouvier, 1928
Antheraea yamamai titan
Antheraea (Antheraea) ulrichbroschi U. & L.H. Paukstadt, 1999

Lemaireia inexspectata Nässig, 1996
Lemaireia luteopeplus aureopeplus Nässig & Holloway, 1988

Solus parvifenestratus sinjaevi Nässig, 1994 ;
Brechlin, 2007, synonymizes this with S. p. parvifenestratus, Bryk, 1944.

Notes on like species:

Samia species Samia kohlli, a montane species (200-2500m), is reported across northern Vietnam: Mount Fan Si Pan, Sa Pa, Hanoi, Tam Dao, Yen Bai; south to Thanh Hoa Province: Cuc Phuong; Nghe An Province: Ben En NP; further south to Lam Dong Province, etc. I suspect it flies throughout Vietnam. Peigler and Naumann, A Revision of the Silkmoth Genus Samia, 2003, indicate bright intensive colouration (brownish orange ground colour), large size, long wide crescents with prominent yellow and hyaline areas, and a violet forewing apex. They also indicate sometimes examination of genitalia is required to distinguish this species from both S. wangi and S. canningi. In their images of S. kohlli I note brighter colouration along the costa and along the forewing inner margin as compared to darker colouration in the upper median area around the crescent. There is usually quite noticeable, especially in the hindwings, outward pink suffusions along the wing veins. Samia wangi, (400-1800m) seems limited in Vietnam: Cho-Ganh, Chu Ga, Mount Fan Si Pan, Chapa (probably same as Sa Pa), Hoa Binh, to a more northerly distribution than that of S. kohlli. However, more collecting may reveal a more southerly distribution as well. Ground colour is olive green, crescents have narrow white and usually narrow yellow components, usually almost straight or weakly curved in the forewing. Peigler and Naumann indicate that basal area and costal area are lighter in colour than the median ground colour, but their images of two females show only slight differences. Samia canningi, (600-2500m) flies in northern Vietnam: Hoa Binh, Tam Dao, Mount Fan Si Pan, Chapa, Mai Chau, Cao Tri, Ba Be National Park. Most specimens have been taken at higher elevations. The forewing ground colour is highly variable from dark smoky grey to golden orange, without any greenish tints. After reading all descriptions and discussions and viewing all images in A Revision of the Silkmoth Genus Samia, 2003, I am more convinced that determinations will have to be by examination of genitalia except where specimens show a greenish cast, ruling out S. canningi. Specimens from southern Vietnam are more likely S. kohli. Of the three species, S. canningi "seems" to have the least suffusion of pink scaling along the hindwing veins toward the outer margin. Instead, this subterminal area seems to have a very diffuse darker bar (maroon to grey-brown), almost straight, running from the costa to the inner margin. S. wangi seems to have the longest, narrowest, straightest forewing crescents. The larvae of S. wangi are also reported to be almost identical to those of Samia cynthia.

Samia wangi female, Tam Dao, Vihn Phuc, Vietnam, 900m, courtesy of Vu Van Lien, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Samia wangi fifth instar, Tam Dao, Vihn Phuc, Vietnam, 900m, courtesy of Vu Van Lien, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Samia wangi cocoon, Tam Dao, Vihn Phuc, Vietnam, 900m, courtesy of Vu Van Lien, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

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On my home computer only: notes on Saturniidae of Bhutan by Ronald Brechlin (in English) as published in Entomo-Satsphingia 2 (1): 47 – 55 (March 2009)

The actual hardcopy editions of Entomo-Satsphingia may be purchased via the link to the left.