Hemileuca hualapai

Hemileuca hualapai
hem-ih-LOO-kuhmmWA-la-pie
(Neumoegen, 1883) Euleucophaeus Hualapai

Hemileuca hualapai from Arizona. Photo by Bruce Walsh.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Tribe: Hemileucini, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Genus: Hemileuca, Walker, 1855

MIDI MUSIC

"Someone to Watch Over Me"
copyright C. Odenkirk
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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
extreme south central Arizona: Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz;
into Sonora, Mexico at elevations of 3200-4500 feet.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Under natural conditions this species flies at night from late March to early June, and adults come in to lights. Grasses are the primary larval hosts.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Moths eclose during the day with matings occuring in the early evening.

Hemileuca hualapai male, copyright Kirby Wolfe

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

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.

Albert Thurman writes, "Here are some of the caterpillars I collected down in Patagonia in early August. I'm raising them on grass, and there were hundreds of them on the grass in Patagonia, Harshaw Canyon, Temporal Gulch, and up in Box Canyon, so I'm guessing they are something common."

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.

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.

Bouteloua curtipendula.....
Cynodon

Side-oats grama
Bermuda grass

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.

Hemileuca, the genus name, was possibly chosen for the white (leuca) band dividing the forewing of the genus specimen type, Hemileuc maia, in half (hemi). There is also a pale wedge dividing the forewing cell in half.

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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