DISTRIBUTION:

Periphoba hircia (wingspan: males: 70-94mm; females: 107-130mm) flies in
Surinam: Paramaribo;
French Guiana: Cayenne, Regina, Coralie, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Belizon;
Venezuela: Bolivar, Amazonas, Miranda, Aragua;
Colombia: Meta and probably Caqueta and Putamayo;
Ecuador: Sucumbios, Orellana, Napo, Morona-Santiago, Zamora Chinchipe and probably Pastaza;
Peru: Amazonas (LTR), Loreto, Huanuco, Junin, Madre de Dios, Cusco, Puno;
Bolivia: La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz; and
Brazil: Para, Amazonas, northern Mato Grosso (JVB).

It has been taken in habitats ranging in elevation from 200m to 1200m.

Periphoba hircia male, Tena, Napo, Ecuador, courtesy of Steve Ife.

This species is quite variable. Thorax ranges from yellow to grey to dark brown. The abdomen is yellow to orange and ringed with black.

The forewing can be greyish, suffused with yellow, to an almost uniform dark greyish brown. The undulating pm line helps to distinguish it from other species. The am line is slightly irregular and slightly convex. The cell mark is small and dark, often with a smaller white accessory spot.

Periphoba hircia male (verso), Tena, Napo, Ecuador, courtesy of Steve Ife.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species has multiple broods. Larvae feed on Carpinus, Crataegus, Fagus, Populus nigra, Prunus, Pyrus malus, Quercus ilex, Robinia pseudoacacia and Salix babylonica.

Periphoba hircia male, Ecuador, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Periphoba hircia female, Misahualli, Ecuador, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Periphoba hircia male, Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso, Brazil,
August 30, 2007, courtesy of Johan van t Brosch, id by Bill Oehlke.

Periphoba hircia male, Explorama Lodge, near Iquitos, Loreto, Peru,
September 18, 2008, courtesy of Shirley Sekarajasingham, id by Bill Oehlke.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage.

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

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

Periphoba hircia sixth instar larva copyright Kirby Wolfe.

Periphoba hircia sixth instar, Misahualli, Ecuador, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

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.

Carpinus Crataegus Fagus Populus nigra Prunus Pyrus malus Quercus ilex Robinia pseudoacacia ....... Salix babylonica

Hornbeam/Ironwood Hawthorn Beech Black poplar Cherry Apple Holly/Holm oak Black locust/False acacia Weeping willow

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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 origin of the species name "hircia" is also unknown to me.

This page is designed and maintained by Bill Oehlke as part of the World's Largest Saturniidae Site.

The following images may or may not appear on your monitor, depending upon whether or not I get permission from respective photographers/owners to display them. I do have permission for my own private use.

Periphoba hircia male, Belizon, French Guiana,
August 2002, Rene Lehousse, French Guiana Systematique.

Periphoba hircia female, Coralie, French Guiana,
July 25, 2003, Jean Paul Passelecq, French Guiana Systematique.

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