DISTRIBUTION:

Dirphia avibarinasensis (wingspan: males: 88mm; females: mm // Mfwl: 45-52mm; Ffwl: 55-57mm) flies in
Venezuela: Barinas: Barinitas: Rio Calderas, at elevations of approximately 420-2000m.

Dirphia avibarinasensis female, reared on Fagus, Barinas, Venezuela,
courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Victor Suter.

Dirphia avibarinasensis male, Venezuela,
2200-2300m, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Viktor Suter, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Bernhard Wenczel writes, July 5, 2013, "I was trying to id a moth from Guatemala and stuck in the Dirphia section. My particular interest fell on the name Dirphia avibarinasensis . You don’t show the matching moth (I have just added the "Fagus" male and female above), but you were right assuming it should be on the CD I’ve sent you. The correct moth is labeled with Dirphia avia Fagus (male, female and larva). And as far as I know there’s nobody else who knows for sure it’s in his collection. The problem is, just regarding the moth no one suspects it to be another species. Even seeing the larva you don’t. But I got the eggs, and, when I’ve opened the tube, I was sure that I’ve never before reared this species. By then I had no clue of what their mother looked like and regarding the eggs I was far of thinking on something like D.avia.

"The eggs looked completely different. Instead of round and bright white with the black microphyle they were light-grey at the bottom and grey-green in their upper half with a clear microphyle. The second point that made me sure that I’ve never before seen such a thing was the fact, that these eggs took six weeks to hatch. D.avia takes exactly three weeks to do so. At the larva Victor made a remarkable observation. He says the black stripes on the head-shell are not like those of D.avia. The rest of it looks very similar. You can imagine how confused I was seeing this worms. On one hand I was sure the eggs are from another species, but the larva made me think it was avia. I already thought I’ve mixed something up. But then there was the fourth point. D.avibarinasensis larva don’t accept any of the foodplants D.avia larvae do! Beech (Fagus silvatica) was the only accepted plant. It was pretty disappointing when the first moth emerged. Just like D.avia…. I had to label them with a particular little sign – a half green, half white egg. Otherwise I’m sure they hasn’t been recognizable anymore. Just to make the proof I reared two generations more. Again, colored eggs, six weeks of developing, nothing but beech AND no mating with “official” D.avia out of white eggs.

"All these observations I reported to Naumann and Meister. Which the latter one used to describe a new species.

I’ve never read this publication, but I wonder whether he gives the reasons I told you here or justifies just by a difference in the DNA… However, I doubt anybody can determine this species only comparing dried specimens.

"Regards and good night."

I suspect there may be some variability in this species. The white surrounding the darker forewing angulate median area is prominent yet diffuse in the male, diffuse but less prominent in the female where the median area is larger and much more smoothly curved.

The hindwings in both sexes are pale brown with orangey basal hairs and prominent, darker grey-brown post median and submarginal bands.

Based on Entomo-Satsphingia Jahrgang 4 Heft 5 29.12.2011, the Dirphia avia Group (darker median sub-triangular-sub trapezoidal shape, running from costa toward inner margin without striga) consists of the following species:

allae Brechlin & Meister 2011, Peru: Ayacucho; Apurimac; Cusco; Puno; Madre de Dios; Ucayali; Junin; Pasco;
avia French Guiana; Venezuela; probably Guyana and Suriname; most of Central America
avibarinasensis Brechlin & Meister 2011, Venezuela: Barinas
avichoco Brechlin & Meister 2011, Colombia: Choco
aviluisiana Brechlin & Meister 2011, Colombia: Antioquia; Cundinamarca?;
aviurica Brechlin & Meister 2011, Peru: Piura; Tumbes
avinapoana Brechlin, Meister & Kaech 2011, Ecuador: Napo; Zamora Chinchipe; Peru: Amazonas; San Martin
aviboliviana Brechlin & Meister 2011, Bolivia: La Paz; Chuquisaca; Beni; Tarija; Santa Cruz; Cochabamba;
avialtoparanensis Brechlin & Meister 2011, Paraguay: Alto Parana; Paraguari
cadioui Lemaire, 1980, Argentina; Bolivia
curitiba Draudt, 1930 Brazil
dentimaculata Schaus, 1921 Brazil; possibly Paraguay
muscosa Schaus, 1898 southeastern Brazil; northeastern Argentina
Ormiscodes hortensia Schaus, 1913, Brazil, is same as muscosa
f. sinuosa Bouvier, 1929, Brazil, is same as muscosa
f. colorata Bouvier, 1930, Brazil, is same as muscosa
nora (Druce, 1897) Panama: Chiriqui
triangulum Walker, 1855 southeastern Brazil: Santa Catarina; Rio de Janeiro; probably Sao Paulo; Minas Gerais; Parana.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in February, August and December. There are probably additional flight months.

Larvae feed upon Fagus (Bernhard Wenczel).

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

In the image to the right, female curls her abdomen to deposit eggs.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are light-grey at the bottom and grey-green in their upper half with a clear microphyle. They are laid in large clusters and larvae feed gregariously.

Typical of the Subfamily Hemileucinae, Dirphia species all have urticating spines.

Dirphia avibarinasensis seventh instar, reared on Fagus, Barinas, Venezuela,
courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Victor Suter.

The species name is indicative of a close relationship with and appearance similar to D. avia and a specimen type locale in Barinas, Venezuela.

Below are two specimens which I believe are undescribed. Bernhard Wenczel writes, "This is a mountainous one from Vzla. I’ve caught the females at several spots between Merida (2200m) and La Bravera (2300m), a ranch above La Azulita, which you find on the northern slopes down to the hot spot Maracaibo.

"It looks like one of the Colombian mountain species, one with a strong pattern on the back wings."

Dirphia avibarinasensis male, Venezuela,
2200-2300m, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Viktor Suter, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Dirphia avibarinasensis HT male, 88mm, Barinitas, Barinas, Venezuela,
February 18, 2000, 420m, on my home computer only.

Dirphia avibarinasensis female, Venezuela,
2200-2300m, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel and Viktor Suter, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Dirphia avibarinasensis AT female, Barinitas, Barinas, Venezuela,
December 9, 1998, 1300m, on my home computer only.

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.

Fagus sylvatica ....... (BW)

European Beech

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