DISTRIBUTION:

Paradaemonia castanea (wingspan: males: 125-140mm; females: 135-143mm) flies in damp tropical and equatorial woods in
Costa Rica: Cartago (Tuis), Heredia, San Jose; and
probably Panama: Colon: Santa Rita; 900m (AT).

Similar moths from the Amazon region of South America are P. platydesmia, and moths from Brazil: Goias, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina and Parana, previously designated as P. p. castanea, are more likely Paradaemonia meridionalis.

Luigi Racheli (2007) treats this moth as a separate species, not a subspecies of P. platydesmia, and he indicates it also flies in Peru: Junin: Chanchamayo.

It was at one time considered a subspecies of P. platydesmia, but Lemaire (1980) remarks that castanea is larger and has a reddish brown cast with markings showing more contrast. I suspect it has a more inclusive range than is indicated. Due to the reddish brown cast and the location in Colon, Panama, I think the following moth is most likely P. castanea

Paradaemonia castanea, Santa Rita Arriba, Colon, Panama,
May 18, 1976, courtesy of Albert Thurman, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Paradaemonia castanea male, verso, Santa Rita Arriba, Colon, Panama,
May 18, 1976, courtesy of Albert Thurman

Paradaemonia castanea male, verso, document

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

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 origin of the species name "platydesmia" is unknown to me.

The subspecies name "castanea" is probably for the reddish brown (chestnut) colouration of the wings.

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