Adeloneivaia boliviana
(Bouvier, 1927) (Adelocephala)

Adeloneivaia boliviana pair, Chapare, Cochabamba, Bolivia,
courtesy of Thibaud Decaens and G. Lecourt, id by Bill Oehlke.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Ceratocampinae Harris, 1841 was Citheroniinae Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894 Genus: Adeloneivaia, Travassos, 1940 Speces: boliviana, Bouvier, 1927

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Adeloneivaia acuta or boliviana?? male, Brazil, courtesy of Tom Binter.

DISTRIBUTION:

Adeloneivaia boliviana moth (wingspan: males: 48-63mm; females: 67-82mm) was at one time regarded as a variation of A. acuta, but Brechlin and Meister, 2011 have removed it from synonymy with acuta. Adeloneivaia boliviana flies in
Bolivia: La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz;
and possibly in Paraguay: Salto de Guaira; and
southern Brazil: Goias, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo; at elevations of 290-1700m.

I think, but I am not sure, that A. acuta has a more northerly range. Possibly the two species are sympatric in some areas.

Based on the images in the Entomo-Satsphingia journal, A. acuta seems to be lighter in colouration with an almost clear "complexion" whereas the darker A. boliviana has a heavy suffusion of dark dots in all regions of the forewing.

The white dot in the center of the diffuse black forewing cell circle seems considerably larger in acuta as opposed to bolviana. The male forewing is triangular (rounded at anal angle) and has a very sharp apex with a slightly concave outer margin. Note the white dot in the black discal spot on the ventral surface of the forewing. Both males and females have am and pm forewing lines that are almost parallel.

Adeloneivaia boliviana female, Bolivia Caranavi, January 14, 2004, S15*50.250 W067*34.048,
589 m, 22C, 250W ks wingspan 76 mm, courtesy of Henrich Bloch,
tentative identification by Bill Oehlke

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adeloneivaia boliviana probably flies in January - February and then possibly again in July. In Europe, Bernhard Wenczel reports Robinia pseudoacacia is used with some success.

Adeloneivaia acuta or boliviana male, Bolivia, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Adeloneivaia acuta or boliviana male, Peru, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Adeloneivaia acuta or boliviana, Bolivia, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

The three specimens above, courtesy of Eric van Schayck, are so similar that I cannot distinguish them between acuta and boliviana. Based on darker coluration and heavy speckling, I would tend to go with boliviana, but I do note the large white center in the forewing cell spot of the female?? (Bill Oehlke)

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adult Adeloneivaia boliviana moths emerge from pupae, and males are slightly smaller than females.

Mating probably begins shortly after dusk with a calling period from 10:30 pm. to 1:00 am.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Night-flying females lay translucent eggs on host plant leaves. Note the red "horns" of this third instar larva courtesy of Eric Van Schayck. Larvae pupate underground in small chambers. Care of larvae and pupae should be as for any Neotropical species.

There are some dramatic changes as larvae move into final instar.

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.

Acacia baileyana Robinia pseudoacacia......

Bailey's acacia Blacklocust/False acacia

The species name, boliviana, is indicative of a specimen type from La Paz, Bolivia.

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