Actias maenas diana
AKT-ee-uhsmmMEE-nasmmDYE-ann-uh
Maassen, [1872]

Actias maenas diana male, Malaysia, mid August, courtesy of Wayne Hsu.

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: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Saturniini, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Genus: Actias, Leach, 1815

MIDI MUSIC "Moon River" copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="moon.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Actias maenas diana (wingspan; males: 100-117mm; 120-132mm) flies in
Malaysia: Cameron Highland, Kundasang in Sabah. Visit a stunning Actias maenas diana male, courtesy of Carlot Didier.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Teemu Klemetti offers the following regarding flight on peninsular Malaysia: This species flies from the "8th of March-26th of May. Males come to light between 5 - 6:30 am, I have no experiences about the females."

Specimens have also been taken in August-September and November-December in Malaysia.

Actias maenas diana male, Sri Peninjau (elevation 1200m), Telecom Apartments, Malaysia,
March 13, 2007, 5:45 am, courtesy/copyright of Preston Murphy.

The preferred foodplant is unknown.

Actias maenas diana?? male

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males fly in a zigzag pattern in the night sky in an effort to locate, with their highly developed antennae, the female pheromone plume.

Actias maenas diana? female

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

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.

Eucalyptus gunnii Liquidambar styraciflua......

Cider gum Sweetgum

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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.

The Latin word "maenas" refers to a woman who took part in the "festivities" in honour of the wine god Dionysos in Greek mythology.

The subspecies name "diana" is from the Roman goddess of the hunt and protector of children. She is the Roman version of the Greek Artemis.

The genus name, Actias, probably comes from the Greek Actaeon, who is the hunter who had the misfortune of being torn to pieces by his own dogs after accidentally encountering the naked goddess Artemis. To punish him, Artemis splashed water on Actaeon and turned him into a stag.

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