Dirphia tarquinia
DIRF-ee-uhMtar-KWIN-ee-uh
(Cramer, 1775) Phalaena Attacus Tarquinia

Dirphia tarquinia (male) courtesy of Angelo Santin.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily Hemileucinae Genus Dirphia, Hubner [1819]

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DISTRIBUTION:

Dirphia tarquinia (wingspan: males: 69-84mm; females: 94-123mm) flies in
Suriname;
Guyana: Mazaruni-Potaro;
French Guiana: Cayenne, Cacao, Regina, Coralie, Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, Saul;
Venezuela: Bolivar, Amazonas, Aragua, Carabobo;
Trinidad: St. George;
Colombia: Meta;
Peru: Cusco, Madre de Dios (probably D. mielkeorum from Peru); and
Brazil: Para and Paraiba.

Dirphia tarquinia male, courtesy of Steve Kohll.

Robin Chittenden, via Daniel Marlos of What's That Bug? provides the following image of a Dirphia tarquinia male from Brasso Saco, St. George, Trinidad.

Dirphia tarquinia male, Brasso Saco, St. George, Trinidad,
April 24, 2013, courtesy of Robin Chittenden, via Daniel Marlos.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in January, March - August and November - December, suggesting at least three broods annually.

Larvae feed upon Locos tree. Salix and Prunus armeniaca have been reported as alternate hosts.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING: Males use highly developed antennae to locate females at night by tracking their airbourne pheromone plumes. Female to the right.

Dirphia tarquinia male, copyright Kirby Wolfe.

Dirphia tarquinia male, French Guiana,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE: Typical of the Subfamily Hemileucinae, Dirphia species all have urticating spines. Kirby Wolfe copyright image. Pupae have a relatively long cremaster and dark external shell.

Eggs are pure white with a black micropyle. The first three instars are entirely black.

"Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to lunch we go!
Dirphia tarquinia first instar courtesy of Robert Lemaitre.

Dirphia tarquinia second instar, courtesy of Robert Lemaitre.

Dirphia tarquinia third instar, courtesy of Robert Lemaitre.

Dirphia tarquinia fourth instar, courtesy of Robert Lemaitre.

Dirphia tarquinia fifth instar, courtesy of Robert Lemaitre.

Dirphia tarquinia fifth instar, Santa Isabel do Para, Para, Brazil,
July 1, 2010, courtesy of Almir Candido do Almeida.

Larvae are being reared on Crataegus oxyacantha (common-hawthorn) and Cerasus lusitanica (cherry-bay, Portugal-laurel).

Dirphia tarquinia male, courtesy of Robert Lemaitre

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.

Cerasus lusitanica Crataegus oxyacantha....... Prunus armeniaca Salix

Cherry-bay/Portugal-laurel Common hawthorn Apricot Willow

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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 friend/collector/etc.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Dirphia" chosen by Hubner in 1819.

The species name "tarquinia" is from the name Tarquinia, an ancient city that stood on the La Civita hill, close to the modern city in Greece.

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