Coloradia prchali
kahl-er-AGH-dee-uhmmper-CHAL-eye
Lemaire & M. J. Smith, 1992

Photo Coloradia prchali moth (female) courtesy of Chris Conlan.

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

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Hemileucinae, [1837] 1834 Genus: Coloradia, Blake, 1863 Species: prchali, Lemaire & M.J. Smith, 1992

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DISTRIBUTION:

Coloradia prchali (forewing length: males: 28-31mm; females: 35-40mm) flies in eastern Sonora and western Chihuahua, Mexico.
Mexico: Sonora: 7 miles NW Yecora, collected by M. Smith, 1990-06-28 (mirror).

The moth is named in honor of its discoverer, Steve Prchal.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing from late June til mid August.

Larvae probably feed on Pinus engelmannii, Pinus leilophylla and Juniperus deppeana.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use more highly developed antennae to seek out the females which call from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. Male Coloradia prchali moth image to the right courtesy of Chris Conlan.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are usually deposited in small clusters and gregarious early instar larvae eventually become solitary as they progress.

Coloradia prchali, Sonora, Mexico, courtesy of Jim Tuttle, 7.2 miles northwest Yecora.

Coloradia prchali courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

Coloradia prchali fifth instar, courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

Pinus engelmannii....... Pinus leilophylla Juniperus deppeana

Apache pine/Arizona longleaf pine Pinus leilophylla Alligator juniper

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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.

Coloradia, the genus name, was possibly chosen for the state of Colorado where Coloradia pandora, the genus specimen type, is widespread.

The species name prchali is honourific for Steve Prchal.