Asthenidia lactucina
(Cramer, 1780) Phalaena

Asthenidia lactucina male, Loreto, Peru,
September 12, 2008, courtesy of Shirley Sekarajasingham,
id by Bill Oehlke.

Asthenidia lactucina courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

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 or Family: Oxytenidae, Jordan, 1924 Subfamily: Oxyteninae, Jordan, 1924 Genus: Asthenidia, Westwood, 1879

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DISTRIBUTION:

Asthenidia lactucina (wingspan: males: 48mm; females: ??) flies in
Surinam;
French Guiana: Maripasoula; near Kourou;
Ecuador: Napo, Zamora Chinchipe (LR), and probably Sucumbios, Pastaza and Morona-Santiago.

Peter Bruce-Jones reports a June 15, 2010, flight in
Peru: Junin: Shima.

I suspect ?? it also flies in northwestern Brazil??: (Para, Amazonas ??).

Asthenidia lactucina male, September 7, 2007, Cando, Napo, Ecuador,
courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

Asthenidia lactucina male (verso), September 7, 2007, Cando, Napo, Ecuador,
courtesy/copyright Horst Kach.

In some taxonomies, the Oxyteninae are treated as a subfamily of Oxytenidae rather than as a subfamily of Saturniidae.

Asthenidia lactucina, Shima, Junin, Peru,
June 15, 2010, 700m, courtesy of Peter Bruce-Jones.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The Asthenidia lactucina moth probably broods continuously. There are reports from French Guiana for January. I suspect ?? it flies in January-February, May-June-July and September-October, December, and posibly at other times. Peter Bruce-Jones reports a June flight in Junin, Peru.

Asthenidia lactucina courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

Asthenidia lactucina, near Kourou, French Guiana,
December 14, 1997, courtesy of Emilie Chich, Project Noah.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Like the other Oxyteninae, Asthenidia larvae have sticky glands on all body segments.

Larval Food Plants

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.

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Asthenidia lactucina male, Maripasoula, French Guiana,
January 29, 1998, collection of Philippe Collet, photo copyright Rene Lahousse,
French Guiana Systematique.