Pseudodirphia beckei
soo-doh-DIRF-ee-uhMBECK-eye
Brechlin & Meister, 2011

Pseudodirphia beckei male, Venezuela,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck, slight digital repair and id by Bill Oehlke,
same specimen as depicted on BOLD systems (quite faded and drab) for beckei.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Tribe: Hemileucini, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Genus: Pseudodirphia, Bouvier, 1928

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DISTRIBUTION:

Pseudodirphia beckei (approximate wingspan: males: mm; females: mm // forewing length: males: mm; females: mm) flies in
Venezuela: Bolívar, Las Trincheras, Río Caura, 80 m., 28.VII.1998.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Pseudodirphia beckei flies in July and possibly in other months.

Larval hosts are unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use highly developed antennae to locate females at night by tracking their airbourne pheromone plume.

At rest, moths fold wings over the body in typical Hemileucinae style.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters or rings. Larvae are gregarious and are well equipped with urticating spines. A light, single-walled cocoon is spun among leaf litter.

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.

Pseudodirphia was chosen as the genus name as these moths are very similar to those in the Dirphia genus.

The species name, beckei, is honourific for Becke.

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