DISTRIBUTION:

The Arsenura batesii batesii moth (wingspan: males: 132-160mm; females: 132-172mm) flies in
eastern Ecuador: Sucumbios LTR/HK, Napo CL (occasional (LTR)), Orellana LTR, Pastaza LTR, Morona Santiago CL, Zamora-Chinchipe (PO); and in
Colombia: Vichida and Meta, and possibly Caqueta, Putamayo, Guaviare, Guainia, Vaupes and Amazonas; and in
Peru: Amazonas (LTR), Junin, Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Puno, and probably Loreto, San Martin and Ucayali; and in
Bolivia: Santa Cruz, La Paz (possibly A. batesii arcaei in this area) and possibly Cochabamba (east side of Andes) to
Brazil: Para, Amazonas and Mato Grosso, and probably Acre and Rondonia; at elevations of 290m to 900m.

Locations followed by my intitials (WO) indicate a speculative range, without confirmed reports.

The male of the nominate species has a wavy outer forewing margin and the apex of the tail is distinctly bilobed. Males of subspecies arcaei have smooth forewing outer margins and the apex of the tail is scarcely bilobed, if at all.

I believe the specimen below, composited by myself from a Vladimir Izersky image (Peru) shows the wavy forewing outer margin and bilobed tail characteristic of nominate batesii.

It is almost impossible to tell females of nominate batesii and subspecies arcaei apart even by examination of genitalia.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are probaly two generations of Arsenura batesii annually with moths on the wing in February-March and then probably again in July.

Luehea speciosa and Apeiba tibourbou and Guazuma ulmifolia are used in the lab for rearing larvae.

Arsenura batesii batesii male, Copalinga Lodge, Bombuscaro, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador,
February 24, 2011, courtesy of Pia Oberg.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Visit Arsenura batesii batesii females, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Arsenurini males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night. The lower wings of the female (above) are much more rounded than those of the male.

Arsenura batesii batesii female, La Paz Province, Bolivia,
courtesy of Carlos G. C. Mielke. copyright

Of the image depicted above, Frederic Beneluz writes, "A. batesii batesii ? (La Paz): it might be A. b. arcaei, the Bolivian populations (between others) are somewhat delicate to determine…(Lemaire, 1980 and pers. communications)."

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Eggs are off-white and slightly ovate. I suspect they are deposited in clusters as per other Arsenurinae species, but I have no first hand knowledge. A single egg is depicted to the right. These images by Dan Janzen are from Costa Rica and may be of subspecies arcaei. Visit Arsenura batesii eggs and first through fifth instars, Lumbaqui, Sucumbios, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Larvae are quite interesting with anal horns and thoracic "tentacles", especially well developed in the early instars. Visit Arsenura batesii first, second, third, fourth, fifth instars, mature larva, Ecuador, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Larvae get quite large and change considerably with development. Most of the enlarged scoli (posterior and anterior) have all but disappeared by final instar.

Pupation is in an underground chamber. Pupae are long and relatively smooth and slender.

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Luehea speciosa Apeiba tibourbou....... Guazuma ulmifolia

Luehea speciosa Apeiba tibourbou....... Guacima/Bay Cedar

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 contempory friend/collector/etc.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Arsenura" chosen by Duncan in 1841.

The species name "batesii" is honourific for Bates.

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