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Updated as per Lemaire's Hemileucinae 2002, February 5, 2007 Updated as per personal communication with Peter Bruce-Jones, (Shima, Junin, Peru, June 11-14, 2010, 700m), January 25, 2011 |
Automeris balachowskyi/lapachowskyi?? female, Shima, Junin, Peru,
June 12, 2010, 700m, courtesy of Peter Bruce-Jones,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke, confirmed by Frederic Beneluz, originally as balachowskyi.
TAXONOMY:Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 |
"Someone to Watch Over Me" |
I suspect it also flies in Guyana and Suriname, and in parts of Brazil: (probably Amapa, Para, Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Rondonia (WO?)).
The diurnal male makes capture and sighting records less likely; hence, the moth is probably more widespread than indicated.
The male is diurnal and very rare in collections. The female was first considered as a dark form of Automeris hamata.
In 2011, Brechlin & Meister, described a very similar species, A. lapazchowskyi, from Nor Yungas, Bolivia. I am not sure which images on this page are of balachowskyi and which are of lapazchowskyi?? Bill Oehlke
Automeris balachowskyi male,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.
Automeris balachowskyi male, Claude Lemaire, on my home computer only.
This moth is very similar to A. hamata, with the male (very rare in collections) slightly smaller and browner, and the female darker on all wings with a pointed forewing apex.
Automeris balachowskyi female, Shima, Junin, Peru,
June 14, 2010, 700m, courtesy of Peter Bruce-Jones,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke, confirmed by Frederic Beneluz.
Lemaire groups hamata, balachowskyi, wayampi, rostralis, duchartrei, goodsoni, meridionalis, jucunda, tamsi, chacona, chacona rectilineata and rectilinea based on genitalia, with all having the yellow ring of the eyespot very narrowly surrounded with black as well as a suffusion of black scales on the inner side of the hindwing yellow postmedial band. These moths do not have ringed abdomens.
Larvae grew slowly in the lab on Robinia pseudoacacia.
Automeris balachowskyi female, Shima, Junin, Peru,
June 12, 2010, 700m, courtesy of Peter Bruce-Jones,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke, confirmed by Frederic Beneluz.
Robinia pseudoacacia....... | False acacia |
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.