Rothschildia aricia ariciopichinchensis
Updated as per Entomo Satsphingia Jahrgang 5 Heft 3 30.11.2012; March 14, 2013
Updated as per personal communication with Roger Ahlman (Bellavista Lodge, Pichincha, Ecuador, February 13, 2010, 2100m); January 26, 2012

Rothschildia aricia
roths-CHILD-ee-uhMuh-RIS-ee-uhMuh-RIS-ee-oh-pih-shin-CHEN-sihs
Brechlin, Kaech & Meister, 2012

Rothschildia aricia ariciopichinchensis male, Bellavista Lodge, Pichincha, Ecuador,
2100m, February 13, 2010, courtesy of Roger Ahlman.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Tribe: Attacini, Blanchard, 1840
Genus: Rothschildia, Grote, 1896

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DISTRIBUTION:

Rothschildia aricia ariciopichinchensis (wingspan: males: : females: mm // forewing length: males: 81-85mm; females: 77-79mm) flies in
Ecuador: Pichincha, at elevations of 1080-2230m.

Rothschildia aricia ariciopichinchensis male, western Ecuador,
courtesy of Hubert Mayer copyright, id by Bill Oehlke.

The "Aricia Group" now (2012) consists of the following species:
aricia aricia; Colombia and northwestern Venezuela: Merida, Trujillo, Aragua, Carabobo, Yaracuy;
aricia napoecuadoriana; Ecuador: Napo, Morona Santiago;
aricia ariciopichinchensis; Ecuador: Pichincha;
interaricia; Peru: Huanuco, Pasco, Junin, Amazonas;
xanthina xanthina; Peru: Cusco;
xanthina paraxanthina; Bolivia: Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, La Paz.

Members of this group may be hard to determine by just looking at images. Geography might be the best indicator.

Rothschildia aricia aricia

Roths. aricia napoecuadoriana

Roths. aricia ariciopichinchensis

Rothschildia interaricia

Roths. xanthina paraxanthina

Rothschildia xanthina xanthina

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in January, March, October-November-December.

This species will probably accept Ligustrum (privet), lilac, ailanthus and oak.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Like most of the Rothschildia, except for the diurnal zacateca, this species calls and pairs at night.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

It is interesting to watch Rothschildia fashion their cocoons. A strong peduncle with a few support silk strands secures the structure while the larva continues "padding its nest" with a continuous back-and-forth movement of the head.

There are both inner and outer cocoons, each with a relatively long valve to facilitate eclosions.

Larval Food Plants


It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the anticipated foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Ailanthus altissima.....
Ligustrum
Quercus
Syringa vulgaris

Ailanthus
Privet
Oak
Common lilac

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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 male contempory/friend/collector/etc.

The genus name "Rothschildia" probably was chosen to honour W. Rothschild.

The species name "aricia" comes from mythology. Aricia is a minor goddess who ruled the prophetic visions sometimes experienced in wild places far from human habitation.

The subspecies name "ariciopichinchensis" indicates a great similarity to aricia and a specimen type locale in Pichincha, Ecuador.