Eacles tyrannus
Updated as per Heppner's Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera Checklist: Part 4B, 1996, November 29, 2005
Lemaire's Ceratocampinae, November 30, 2005
Updated as per personal communication with Horst Kach, April 1, 2007, February 2008
Updated as per Entomo Satsphingia Jahrgang 4 Heft 3 23.08.2011; January 29, 2012
Updated as per personal communication with Brian Fletcher (Umbrellabird Lodge, Jocotoco Foundation Buenaventura Reserve, nr. Pinas, El Oro, Ecuador, February 28, 2014, 1200m); March 12, 2014

Eacles tyrannus
EE-uh-kleesMtye-RAN-nuhs
Draudt, 1930

Eacles tyrannus male courtesy of T. Decaëns

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Ceratocampinae, Harris, 1841
Genus: Eacles, Hübner, [1819]

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DISTRIBUTION:

Eacles tyrannus (wingspan: males: 86-123mm; females: 124-156mm) flies at low elevation in
western Ecuador: Pichincha, Manabi and Canar and (probably in Carchi, Imbabura, Esmeraldas (HK), Cotopaxi, El Oro, Los Rios and Bolivar (WO)); and in
western Colombia: Valle.

This moth has been elevated to full species status as Eacles tyrannus by Brechlin & Meister, 2011, from a previous subspecies designation as Eacles masoni tyrannus.

Eacles tyrannus male, Ecuador, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adult specimens have been taken in September (HK), December (HK)-January and August. Lorenzo Comoglio reports an April flight in Alluriquin, Pichincha, Ecuador.

Horst Kach reports rearing success with larvae feeding on Liquidambar, Quercus and Prunus domestica.

Eacles tyrannus male, December 28, 2002,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus male (verso), December 28, 2002,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus male, Ecuador, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females, which are much plainer than males, mate around 10:00 P.M., and the pair remains coupled until the following evening. Upon separation, the females begin their ovipositing flights.

Eacles tyrannus , Umbrellabird Lodge, Jocotoco Foundation Buenaventura Reserve,
near Pinas, El Oro, Ecuador,
February 28, 2014, 1200m, id by Bill Oehlke

Eacles tyrannus female, January 22, 2004,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus female (verso), January 22, 2004,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus female, Ecuador, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Semi-translucent green eggs, girdled with a black band, are deposited singly or in small clusters of up to six.

Eacles tyrannus eggs,
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

The larvae become visible through the egg shells a day or so before emerging.

Eacles tyrannus second instar, January 27, 2008
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus third instar, yellow form, January 31, 2008
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus third instar, brown form, January 31, 2008
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus third instar, green form, February 3, 2008
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus fourth instar, green form, February 19, 2008
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus fourth instar, brown form, February 19, 2008
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus fifth instar, brown form, March 2, 2008
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Eacles tyrannus prepupal, Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Horst indicates he has reared the Eacles masoni tyrranus larvae on Prunus.

Larvae are solitary in their feeding habits. At maturity larvae descend trees to pupate in underground chambers.

Pupae should be stored under cool, but above freezing temperatures, and sprinkling with water a few times a week in June encourages July-August eclosions. There is another brood typically on the wing in January.

Eacles tyrannus female, September 23, 2008
Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Visit Eacles tyrannus male, green and brown forms of fifth instar larvae, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Visit Eacles tyrannus female, courtesy of Giampaolo, via Lorenzo Comoglio.

Larval Food Plants


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.

Liquidambar
Quercus
Prunus domestica .......

Sweetgum
Oak
Plum

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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 "Eacles", but it may be a combination of "Ea", the Greek word for gods and goddesses and the Greek suffix "cles", meaning 'glory of'.

The species name "masoni" is honourific for a man named Mason.

The subspecies name of 'tyrannus' might be for the relatively large size of this moth.

Eacles masoni tyrannus female, Claude Lemaire,
on my home computer only.

Eacles tyrannus male, 101mm, Pichincha, Ecuador,
on my home computer only.