Mielkesia paranaensis
Updated as per Lemaire's Ceratocampinae 1988, September 26, 2006
Updated as per Galathea * Berichte des Kreises Nurnberger * Supplement 15 * 2004, courtesy Stefan Naumann, April 4, 2007
Updated as per Rio Grande do Sul: Arsenurinae and Ceratocampinae; April 25, 2013

Mielkesia paranaensis
MEEL-key-see-uhMpah-rah-nuh-ENS-ihs
(Rego-Barros & Mielke, 1968) Cicia

Mielkesia paranaensis male, wingspan 50 mm, Campo do Tenente, Paraná, Brazil,
September, courtesy of Eurides Furtado copyright

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
was Citheroniinae Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894
Genus: Mielkesia , Lemaire, 1988
Species: paranaensis, (Rego-Barros & Mielke, 1968)

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DISTRIBUTION:

Mielkesia paranaensis (wingspan: males: 53mm; females: 64mm // forewing length: males: 26.4mm; females: 32mm) flies in Brazil: Parana: Campo do Tenente; Rio Grande do Sul: Piratini.

The male forewing is elongated with a convex outer margin. The female is similar, but she has a much fuller forewing.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Mielkesia paranaensis flies in September-October.

Larval hosts are unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adult Mielkesia paranaensis moths emerge from subterranean pupae, and males are slightly smaller than females. Males seem to fly at dusk 19:15-19:30hrs, and a female came to lights around 19:45hrs.

Mielkesia paranaensis female

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Night-flying females lay translucent eggs on host plant leaves. The developing larvae can be seen through the egg shells.

Larvae pupate underground in small chambers.

Care of larvae and pupae should be as for any Neotropical species.

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.



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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.

The genus name "Mielkesia" is probably honourific for Mielke, but it could also refer to the honey colour of the only species in this genus.

The species name "paranaensis" is indicative of the specimen type locale, Parana, Brazil.