DISTRIBUTION:

The Paradaemonia platydesmia moth (wingspan: males: 104-121mm; females: 115-122mm // Mfwl: 56-66mm; Ffwl: ) flies in damp tropical and equatorial woods in
Peru: Madre de Dios, Puno, Ucayali: Atalaya (VI), and possibly Loreto;
Venezuela: Bolivar;
French Guiana: Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, Inini, Oyapok, Saint-Elie, Saul, Kaw;
Brazil: Para, Mato Grosso;
Colombia: Choco, Valle del Cauca, Caqueta, Vaupes, probably Putamayo, Amazonas and Nariono;
eastern and western Ecuador: Sucumbios, Napo (common at low elevation (LR)), Pastaza, Morona-Santiago, Esmeraldas (HK), (probably Carchi and Imbabura (WO?));
Bolivia: Santa Cruz; and possibly into Central America to
Costa Rica in habitats with elevations ranging from 150 m to 1000m.

Jean Michel Maes reports it from southern
Nicaragua: Rio San Juan.

I suspect it also flies in Guyana and Suriname.

Paradaemonia platydesmia male, French Guiana, courtesy of Carlot Didier.

Paradaemonia platydesmia male, Atalaya, Ucayali, Peru
October 31, 2008, 350m, courtesy of Vladimir Izersky.

Paradaemonia platydesmia male, Atalaya, Ucayali, Peru
October 31, 2008, 350m, courtesy of Vladimir Izersky.

Subspecies castanea may be the same as nominate Paradaemonia platydesmia, but recorded specimens are generally from higher altitudes (800m - 1700m).

Luigi Racheli treats castanea as a distinct species.

The double postmedian lines of the forewings remain fused and prominent from the inner margin to the costa.

Paradaemonia platydesmia Ecuador, courtesy of Charles DeRoller.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Horst Kach reports this species on the wing in Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador in January and March.

FGS reports flights in November and February in French Guiana.

Paradaemonia platydesmia male, French Guiana, courtesy of Carlot Didier.

Visit recto and verso images of male and female Paradaemonia platysdesmia, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Visit Paradaemonia platydesmia male, Tena, Napo, Ecuador, courtesy of Steve Ife.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

Image courtesy of Penin Bruno.

Image courtesy of Entomo Service, French Guiana

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

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Paradaemonia platydesmia male, Kaw, French Guiana, Jean Paul Passelecq,
November, on my home computer only, photo copyright Rene Lahousse.

Paradaemonia platydesmia female, Kaw, French Guiana, February, Bruno Penin,
on my home computer only, photo copyright Rene Lahousse.

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Paradaemonia platydesmia male, recto and verso
Santa Isabel, Para, Brazil

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

Paradaemonia platydesmia female, recto/verso, Kaw, French Guiana,
July 3, 1999, Kaw, French Guiana.