Eacles ormondei yucatanensis
Updated as per Heppner's Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera Checklist: Part 4B, 1996, November 30, 2005
Lemaire's Ceratocampinae, November 30, 2005

Eacles ormondei yucatanensis
ee-UH-kleesmmor-MOND-eyemmyou-kuh-tan-ENS-ihs
Lemaire, 1987

Eacles ormondei yucatanensis courtesy of Dr. Manuel A. Balcazar Lara

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Ceratocampinae, Harris, 1841
Genus: Eacles, Hübner, [1819]
Species: ormondei yucatanensis, Lemaire, 1987

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DISTRIBUTION:

The Eacles ormondei yucatanensis moth (wingspan: males: 85-105mm; females: larger) flies in Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula.

The hindwing postmedian line is tangent to the ocellus; the forewing ground colour tends toward a salmon-pink.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

In the Yucatan Peninsula, Eacles ormondei yucatanensis moths are likely on the wing in May.

In captivity Quercus and Rhus laurina are probably accepted accepted.

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 ormondei yucatanensis male, Claude Lemaire.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Lemon-yellow, translucent eggs are deposited singly or in small clusters of up to six. The larvae become visible through the egg shells a day or so before emerging.

Larvae are solitary in their feeding habits and have extensive thoracic scoli. 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 spring encourages subsequent eclosions.

Larval Food Plants


Listed below are the primary and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

Quercus
Rhus laurina.......

Oak
Laurel sumac

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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 "ormondei" is honourific for Ormonde.

The subspecies name "yucatanensis" indicates the specimen type locality in Yucatan, Mexico.