TAXONOMY:Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 |
"Someone to Watch Over Me" |
Hemileuca hualapai male, Santa Rita Mountains, Pima County, Arizona,
23 April, 2004, 52mm, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.
DISTRIBUTION:Hemileuca hualapai
(wingspan: males: 45-49mm; females: 67mm), flies in |
Eggs are deposited in rings of 30 to 100+ on grass stems. Eggs hatch in July and August after the heavy rains, and early instar larvae, which are reddish brown, are highly gregarious.Larvae wander and become solitary feeders in the fourth instar and continue developing through five-eight instars depending upon availability of grasses. Dry conditions are best for rearing larvae. Pupation is among grass stems in a loosely constructed cocoon. Moths eclose the following spring. |
Hemileuca hualapai egg ring and first instar larvae, courtesy of Russell Witkop.
Hemileuca hualapai larva copyright Kirby Wolfe
Hemileuca hualapai habitat, courtesy of Russell Witkop.
Hemileuca hualapai, courtesy of Russell Witkop.
Hemileuca hualapai, Arizona, courtesy of Leroy Simon.
Hemileuca hualapai, Arizona, courtesy of Leroy Simon.
Hemileuca hualapai, Patagonia, Arizona, August, courtesy of Albert Thurman.
Hemileuca hualapai, Patagonia, Arizona, August, courtesy of Albert Thurman.
Hemileuca hualapai, Patagonia, Arizona, August, courtesy of Albert Thurman.
Bouteloua curtipendula..... |
Side-oats grama |
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.
Hualapai is derived from "hwal," the Yuman word for pine, "Hualapai" meaning "people of the tall pine".
There is an Indian tribe in Arizona known as the Hualapai. However, this species is known from semidesert grasslands, void of pine, as far as I know,
and significantly east of the Hualapai Indian Reservation.
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