DISTRIBUTION:

The Periphoba attali moth (wingspan: males: 58-65mm; females: probably larger) flies in arid regions of southwestern Ecuador: Loja, at elevations of 900m to 1200m.

This species is not as dark as P. nigra with regard to wing colour, but the antennae of Periphoba attali are black.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Male specimens have been taken in daylight in December. The female remains unknown. Larval hosts are unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of the abdomen, and the day-flying males pick up and track the airbourne pheromone plume with their well-developed antennae.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are probably deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

Periphoba attali larvae are probably highly gregarious and have the urticating spines typical of larvae from the Subfamily Hemileucinae.

The long pair of posterior "spikes" and the more extensive anterior "spinage" are typical of mature Periphoba larvae.

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.

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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 "Periphoba" chosen by Hubner in 1820.

The species name "attali" is honourific for collector S. Attal.

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