Caio chiapasiana
KYE-ohmmCHEE-ah-pass-ee-an-uh
Brechlin and Meister, 2010

Caio chiapasiana male, Chiapas, Mexico,
June 6, 2010, 309m, courtesy of John Kamps.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily Bombycoidea Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Arsenurinae, Jordan, 1922 Tribe: Arsenurini, Jordan, 1922 Genus: Caio, Travossa and Noronha, 1968

MIDI MUSIC "Wind Beneath My Wings" copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="wings.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Caio chiapasiana (wingspan: males: 130mm; females: 130mm) flies in
Mexico: Chiapas.

This species, which flies at lower elevation in tropical wetlands, is very similar to Caio richardsoni which is known from drier, higher elevations in western and central Mexico. I suspect the moths from Chiapas south into Guatemala are probably also chiapasiana.

Note the inward projecting dark "ray" at the bottom of the forewing cell spot on C. chiapasiana.

Caio chiapasiana male top and female bottom to left,
Caio richardsoni male top and female bottom to right.

Based on the "composite plate" provided by John Kamps, Caio chiapasiana is a smaller, greyer moth whose pm lines (forewings and hindwings) run their courses much closer, relatively, to the body than in Caio richardsoni.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Caio Chiapasiana larvae possibly ?? feed upon Kapok (Ceiba acuminata), and Floss-silk tree (Chorisia).

Caio chiapasiana female, Chiapas, Mexico,
June 6, 2010, 309m, courtesy of John Kamps.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Caio chiapasiana males use antennae to seek out females which scent at night.

Caio chiapasiana female, Chiapas, Mexico, courtesy/copyright of Espernaza Insects.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae of this Saturniidae species are probably brightly coloured with a pronounced thoracic hump.

Larval Food Plants

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

Ceiba acuminata...... Chorisia

Kapok Floss-silk tree

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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.

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.

Caio, most often called Caligula, is one of the two heirs indicated by Tiberio in his will. Caligula was elected Emperor, ruled for a short time and fell victim to a conspiracy. He was murderd for his cruelty to the people.

The species name, chiapasiana, is indicative of specimen type locality in Chiapas, Mexico.