DISTRIBUTION:

Periphoba rosacea (wingspan: males: 84-95mm?; females: 98mm // forewing length: males: 39-41mm; females: 50mm) flies in
Mexico: Oaxaca; Chiapas; at elevations near 550-1023m.

Based on the image from Belize: Cayo, at top of the page, I believe it also flies in that country, and it may fly as far south as Panama.

This moth was originally classified as Phricodia hircia f. rosacea by Draudt, 1939, and then was synonymized with P. arcaei until 2010 when Brechlin & Meister removed it from synonymity to full species status.

It looks like a small (maybe not so small), pale, lightly marked P. arcaei with a rosy tint to the ground colour. However, if the specimen from Belize is as large (95mm) as was reported to me, then it may be someting undescribed, or perhaps there is a pink form of arcaei after all?? The ESs specimens of rosacea do not have a pm field as wide as the specimen from Belize.

Visit Identification Aides: Periphoba chart; Mexico and Central America.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in Mexico in May-June at elevations of 550-1023m. There are probably additional flight months.

Periphoba pascoensis larval hosts are unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use well-developed antennae to seek out females which scent at night.

Periphoba rosacea female, Mexico, courtesy of Eric van Schayck,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Periphoba rosacea female, 98mm, Oaxaca, Mexico,
on my home computer only.

The Eric van Schayck female image above is a good match for the ESS female image diorectly below it on my home computer, except for the white tracings of the forewing am and pm lines. The Entomo-Satsphingia image does not show the white.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Eggs are laid in clusters and larvae, which have urticating spines, feed gregariously.

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.

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 "rosacea" is indicative of a rosy tint to ground colour.

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