DISTRIBUTION:

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta, now generally referred to as Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta, flies in India;
Nepal;
Bhutan: common throughout Bhutan below 1800m;
and Malaysia; and into
southern China: Tibet (probably named for this location), Yunnan and Fujian and probably other southern provinces.

Weiwei Zhang sends the following image from Hainan Province, China. I do not know if it is the nominate subspecies or one of the other subspecies.

Ron Brechlin reports; "Taxonomic note: A large number of subspecies have been described. The validity of most is doubtful."

Ron lists the following as likely synonyms of the nominate species:
"Nepal, Darjiling (TL of extensa BUTLER, 1881);
Bhutan, Assam, N Vietnam/Chapa (=Sa Pa) (TL of bonhouri LE MOULT, 1933);
N China/Peking (TL of arctica YANG, 1978);
N Thailand, W Malaysia/Cameron Highlands (TL of pahangensis PAUKSTADT & PAUKSTADT, 2005);
Taiwan (TL of okurai OKANO, 1960)."

Visit Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta male, courtesy of Gary Saunders

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta male, Hainan, China, courtesy of Weiwei Zhang.

Most recent classifications probably list this species as Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta male, Chiang Mai, Thailand, courtesy of John Moore.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Teemu Klemetti offers the following regarding flight on peninsular Malaysia: This species is a "winter flyer, only one broken male on 8th of March, 1 am. I bet it had better season 1-2 months earlier."

It is on the wing in October-November in Bhutan and Nepal.

Larvae feed upon Andromeda ovalifolia.

David Etz reports larvae also accept both black cherry and sweetgum.

Males generally fly to lights after 4 a.m., so females probably call around dawn or in the wee hours of the mourning just before dawn.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta, female, courtesy/copyright of Robert Thompson.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta male, China, courtesy/copyright Anatolij Kulak.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of their abdomens to "call" the males. Males use their antennae to hone in on the airbourne pheromone.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta male, Chiang Mai, Thailand, courtesy of John Moore.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

The long neon green body hair prevalent in the final instar makes this species a very interesting one to rear. Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta first instar on privet, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta second instar on privet, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta third instar on privet, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta fourth instar on privet, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta fifth instar on privet, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta cocoon, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta male, November 2008, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Listed below are primary and alternate food plants from personal comunication (Alan Marson and David Etz). 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.

Andromeda ovalifolia....... Ligustrum (AM) Liquidambar styraciflua (DE) Prunus serotina (DE)

Bog-rosemary Privet Sweetgum Black Cherry

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On my home computer only: notes on Saturniidae of Bhutan by Ronald Brechlin (in English) as published in Entomo-Satsphingia 2 (1): 47 – 55 (March 2009)

The actual hardcopy editions of Entomo-Satsphingia may be purchased via the link to the left.