DISTRIBUTION:

The Periphoba nigra moth (wingspan: males: 65-87mm; females: 97-124mm) flies in western Ecuador: Esmeraldas, Imbabura, Pichincha and possibly Los Rios; and western Colombia at elevations of 30m to 1400m, (mostly at lower elevations).

Periphoba nigra male, Anchicaya, Valle, Colombia,
March 8, 1969, 1000m, on my home computer only.

Periphoba nigra male, Bosque de Paz, Rio Mira Valley, Imbabura, Ecuador,
70mm, 1100m, courtesy of Jean-Marc Gayman.

Periphoba nigra male, Los Bancos (Pichincha) Ecuador,
November 28, 2003, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Periphoba nigra male verso, Los Bancos (Pichincha) Ecuador,
November 28, 2003, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Periphoba nigra male (verso), Bosque de Paz, Rio Mira Valley, Imbabura, Ecuador,
70mm, 1100m, courtesy of Jean-Marc Gayman.

I notice the following differences between the specimens above from Imbabura and Pichincha.

1) On the dorsal surface, the forewing of the Imbabura specimen seems slightly more elongate, less rounded at the apex.
2) The am and pm lines are less connate at their juncture with the inner margin in the Imbabura specimen.
3) The dark cell mark seems more of a dot without white extensions in the Imbabura specimen; more of a streak with white extensisons in the specimen from Imbabura.

4) On the ventral surface of the Imbabura specimen, I cannot see even a hint of the diffuse white suffusions that are present in the form of pm bands on both the male and female of specimens from Pichincha.

The Claude Lemaire image from Colombia has a wing shape most similar to the specimen from Pichincha, but the apices are even more rounded. The pm line is subparallel to the outer margin, and the pm and am lines are quite removed from each other at their respective junctures with the inner margin. Lemaire does not mention any white suffusions on the ventral wing surfaces.

Either this species (nigra) is quite variable, or two or even three nearly cryptic species are in question.

Visit Periphoba nigra, male, female and larvae, Ecuador, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in January, March-August, and November-December, suggesting three to four broods annually.

Horst Kach has reared them on Psidium guava and Prunus.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Periphoba nigra female, Los Bancos (Pichincha) Ecuador,
November 21, 2003, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Periphoba nigra female verso, Los Bancos (Pichincha) Ecuador,
November 21, 2003, courtesy of Horst Kach.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Round, tan-grey eggs are probably deposited in clusters on hostplant foliage. Black micropyle appears center, top, offertile eggs.

Periphoba nigra eggs, Los Bancos (Pichincha) Ecuador,
November 24, 2006, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Periphoba nigra 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.

Periphoba nigra third instar, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Periphoba nigra third instar, Los Bancos (Pichincha) Ecuador,
November 21, 2003, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Periphoba nigra fourth instar, Los Bancos (Pichincha) Ecuador,
courtesy of Horst Kach.

Periphoba nigra fourth instar, Otavalo, Imbabura, Ecuador,
February 2, 2012, courtesy of Andreas Kay,
at http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreaskay/6800920022/
tentative id by Bill Oehlke

Periphoba nigra fifth instar, Los Bancos (Pichincha) Ecuador,
November 28, 2003, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Periphoba nigra sixth (final) instar, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Periphoba nigra sixth instar, Otavalo, Imbabura, Ecuador,
February 2, 2012, courtesy of Andreas Kay,
at http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreaskay/6800920022/
tentative id by Bill Oehlke

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.

Psidium guava ........ Prunus

Guava Cherry

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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 male friend/collector/etc.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Periphoba" chosen by Hubner in 1820.

The species name "nigra" is for the dark ground colour of the wings.

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