Dirphia baroma
Updated as per Lemaire's Hemileucinae 2002, March 2008
Updated as per personal communication with Carlos Mielke (Parana), April 2008
Updated as per personal communication with Ryan Saint-Laurent; April 13, 2014

Dirphia glauca
Mabilde, 1896
Dirphia baroma
Schaus, 1906

Dirphia baroma * male, Guarani, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil,
June 16, 1933, Cornell University Insect Collection, via Ryan Saint Laurent,
extensive digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

* Regarding the image directly above: Ryan sent me an image of a body with two hindwings attached that was labelled Dirphia baroma from the location sited. He subsequently sent me an image of one disconnected forewing which he felt belonged to the same moth. I did some digital repairs on all wings mentioned, and made a reverse copy of the forewing to complete the moth. I also toned down the brown colouration of the forewing to make it greyer in appearance, closer to the ground colour of the hindwings.

My observation is that the forewing is not a good match from the specimen depicted as baroma in Lemaire's Hemileucinae, 2002. Lemaire's image shows a definite lighter marginal area, in noticeable contrast to the submarginal area, instead of the almost uniform colouration of the CUIC specimen that I digitally repaired. I am not sure that the forewings really belong to this specimen??

I would expect the post median of the forewings to be very similar to those depicted on the females below. The dark ovals on the forewings also seem less prominent in Lemaire's image of a male baroma.

Bill Oehlke

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family Saturniidae Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Tribe: Hemileucini, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Genus: Dirphia, Hubner, 1819

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DISTRIBUTION:

Dirphia baroma (wingspan: males: 65-95mm; females: 103-110mm) flies in
southeastern Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, Parana (CM), Rio Grande du Sul, and (probably in Sao Paulo and Santa Catarina (WO?)).

Possibly it also flies in Paraguay: Alto Parana??

In 2014 Stephan Naumann and Carlos G. C. Mielke indicate Dirphia glauca is actually a senior synonym of Dirphia baroma.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in June-July and August. Larvae have been reared on beech and evergreen oak.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Dirphia baroma female, Porto Alegro, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil,
Cornell University Insect Collection, via Ryan Saint Laurent,
digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Dirphia baroma female, Alto Paraguay, Paraguay or Santa Catarina, Brazil,
Cornell University Insect Collection, via Ryan Saint Laurent,
June 6,, 1936, digital repair by Bill Oehlke; CUIC label below.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are probably laid in large clusters and larvae feed gregariously. Typical of the Subfamily Hemileucinae, Dirphia species all have urticating spines.

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.


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