Rothschildia aurota auromeridensis
roths-CHILD-ee-uhMaw-ROH-tuhMaw-roh-meh-ree-DEN-sihs
Brechlin & Meister, 2013
Rothschildia aurota auromeridensis male, HT, 121mm, Merida, Venezuela,
on my home computer only.
Rothschildia aurota auromeridensis male, Venezuela,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck, id by Bill Oehlke.
TAXONOMY:Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 |
"Girl from Ipanema"
midi by Mel WebbON.OFF |
DISTRIBUTION:
Rothschildia aurota auromeridensis (wingspan: males: 121mm; females: mm // forewing length: males: 73-76mm; females: mm)
flies in
Venezuela: Merida; Carabobo; at elevations of 750-2000m.
FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:
Specimens have been taken in April-May. There are probably additional flight months.
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.
Rothschildia aurota auromeridensis female, copyright Martin Jagelka.
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..... |
Ailanthus |
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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 "aurota auromeridensis" indicates a great similarity to R. aurota aurota, and a specimen type locale in Merida, Venezuela.