DISTRIBUTION:

Paradaemonia nycteris (wingspan: males: 128-152; females: 145-164) flies in damp tropical and equatorial woods at elevations of 225 - 1150m in
Venezuela: Carabobo, Aragua, Tachira, and probably all surounding areas;
Colombia: Meta (ARA);
eastern Ecuador: Morona-Santiago;
Peru: Huanuco;
Brazil: Para, Mato Grosso; and into
Bolivia: possibly ??? Pando, Beni, La Paz.

The lunulate discal spot on the forewing quickly distinguishes this species which has a light beige ground colour with brown lines and extensive brown speckling.

Paradaemonia nycteris male, Ecuador,
courtesy of Horst Kach.

Paradaemonia nycteris male (verso), Ecuador,
courtesy of Horst Kach.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Paradaemonia nycteris, female, courtesy of Hubert Mayer

Paradaemonia nycteris female, Ecuador,
courtesy of Horst Kach.

Paradaemonia nycteris female (verso), Ecuador,
courtesy of Horst Kach, digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Paradaemonia nycteris males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night.

Paradaemonia nycteris male, Peru,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

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 "Paradaemonia" chosen by Bouvier in 1925. It could be because these moths are so similar to "Dysdaemonia", a combination meaning 'bad spirit'.

The species name "nycteris" is derived from the Greek "nykteros", meaning ‘nocturnal’.

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