Coloradia velda
kahl-er-AGH-dee-uhmmVELD-uh
Johnson & Walter, 1979

Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Hemileucinae, [1837] 1834 Genus: Coloradia, Blake, 1863 Species: velda, Johnson & Walter, 1979

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DISTRIBUTION:

Velda (wingspan: males: 50-65mm; females: 64-76mm) flies in the San Bernadino Mountains in California at elevations from 1600-2200m.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This moth flies from late May to early July. Pinyon pine serves as the larval food plant.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Eclosions take place from 9:00 am until noon. Usually females scent just after dusk and pairs stay coupled for just about an hour. Females then begin their ovipositing flights.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Females fly as soon as copulation is over and lay clusters of 6-15 relatively large eggs at the bases of pine needles. Eggs are green at first but turn bluish grey with a dark micropyle at maturity. Incubation can last up to three weeks. Larvae are highly gregarious at first with several caterpillars often feeding on a single pine needle. Larvae become more solitary as they mature and descend tree trunks in August and September to spin loose cocoons just under the surface litter. Coloradia velda larva copyright Kirby Wolfe Larval Food Plants 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 edulis Pinus jeffreyi Pinus monophylla Pinus strobus Pinus sylvestris Pinus thunbergiana..... Pinyon pine Jeffrey pine Singleleaf pine Eastern white pine Scotch pine Japanese black pine Return to Main Index Return to Coloradia Index 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 reason for the species name velda is unknown to me.