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Updated as per Esperanza Insects; December 2011 Updated as per Entomo Satsphingia Yahrgang 4 Heft 1 23 03 2011; February 21, 2012 |
TAXONOMY:Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 |
"Someone to Watch Over Me" |
Now, 2014, treated as a subjective synonym of A. escalantei
This species is very similar to Automeris montezuma, but A. altapazia (mfwl: 37mm) is larger than A. montezuma (mfwl: 29-32mm), and it has less yellow-gold markings than A. montezuma.
The outer margin is straight to slightly convex and not at all oblique. The pm line, inwardly lightly graced with yellow-gold, is subparallel to the outer margin. The irregular cell is concolorous, but is marked by black spots at its various apices. The ground colour is a uniform, drab grey-brown with a light suffusion of silvery scales, showing little contrast in basal, median and marginal areas.
Automeris altapazia = escalantei*? male, Cortes, Honduras,
courtesy/copyright Eduardo Marabuto,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.
Brechlin and Meister, 2011, show the very similar A. escalantei (mfwl: 33-35) as having a considerably more convex forewing outer margin, slightly more hollowed out below a slightly pointed but non-produced apex.
In his Hemileucinae 2002 Lemaire recognizes four species in the Automeris montezuma Species Group 7:
Automeris montezuma HT Mexico: Jalisco;
Lemaire indicates additional range data (countries) for the four species listed above. Some of that data, other than Holotype may apply to the newer species listed
below that were not recognized by Lemaire as distinct. The number in parenthesis indicates the sample size. Forewing length and range may change considerably as
more specimens are sampled.
In Entomo Satsphingia, Jahrgang 4 Heft 1 23 03 2011 by Brechlin and Meister, those authors add nine species
to the Automeris montezuma Species Group 7:
Automeris juarezia HT Mexico: Oaxaca; 900-1050m; mfwl: 35-36 (8)
Brechlin & Meister provide no additional range data beyond type locations for the newly described species. Perhaps they are very limited in their ranges,
but it is also quite possible that a number of species are sympatric, and it would be a mistake to determine species strictly by given location for the type
specimens.
Automeris celata HT Costa Rica: Cartago; mfwl: 30-35mm (5)
Automeris escalantei HT Mexico: Chiapas; mfwl: 33-35mm (12)
Automeris pallidior HT Guatemala: Baja Verapaz or Costa Rica; mfwl: 26-30mm (15).
Automeris altapazia = escalantei HT Guatemala: Alta Verapaz; 1200m; mfwl: 37mm (1); specimen in Lemaire 2002, listed as A. escalantei on
Plate 60: 10 is A. altapazia
Automeris wernermeisteri HT Mexico: Oaxaca; 1023-1530m; mfwl: 32-33mm (12); pale ground colour; thick, dark pm line very concave;
very small hw ocellus; similar to A. pallidior
Automeris managuana HT Nicaragua: Managua; 865m; mfwl: 30mm (1); lighter median area, contrasting om area,; lines outlined in lighter scales on facing sides
Automeris jinotega HT Nicaragua: Jinotega; 1185-1280m; mfwl: 27-30mm (7)
Automeris paracelata HT Costa Rica: Puntarenas; 900m; mfwl: 30-32 (5); very similar to A. celata
Automeris choco HT Colombia: Choco; 1500m; mfwl: 28mm (1)
Automeris stumpei HT Costa Rica: Limon; 1430m; mfwl: 34mm (1) almost straight pm line, subparallel to outer margin; fw: almost uniform light brown ground colour;
hindwing ocellus with tiny white pupil
Automeris knorkeorum HT Mexico: Oaxaca; 677-1023m; mfwl: 30-32mm (5).
Males are able to locate the females by tracking the airbourne pheromone with their highly developed antennae.
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.
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