DISTRIBUTION:

Cerodirphia zulemae (wingspan: males: 71-80mm; females: mm) flies in
Colombia: Boyaca: Muzo region at elevations of 1500m.
Colombia: Boyaca: Muzo: Vereda Caviche, 5.521, -74.183, collected by G. Lecourt and D. Bonilla, 2002-12-01 (Mirror).

This species is very similar to Cerodirphia apunctata and Cerodirphia brunnea. Examination of genitalia may be necessary for accurate determinations.

Cerodirphia zulemae male, Muzo region, Boyaca, Colombia,
December, 1500m, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Cerodirphia zulemae male (verso), Muzo region, Boyaca, Colombia,
December, 1500m, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Cerodirphia zulemae has been taken December. There are probably additional flights.

Cerodirphia zulemae female, Muzo region, Boyaca, Colombia,
December, 1500m, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use highly developed antennae to locate females at night by tracking their airbourne pheromone plumes.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

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.

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 male friend/collector/etc., while those that end in "ae" are honourific for a female.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Cerodirphia" chosen by Blanchard in 1952. PERHAPS (pure speculation by Bill Oehlke) it was chosen for the similarity to Dirphia species and the ringed/banded (Cero) abdomen.

The species name "zulemae" is honourific for Betzy Zulema Mosquera Ramirez, the wife of Thibaud Decaens.

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Cerodirphia zulemae, on my home computer only.