DISTRIBUTION:

Rhescyntis hermes hermandensis (wingspan: males: 114-168mm; females: 146-188mm // Mfwl: 84-102mm; Ffwl: larger) flies in damp tropical and equatorial woods in
Peru: Junin; Ucayali; Amazonas; San Martin; Loreto; and
eastern Ecuador: Sucumbios ??, Napo (uncommon (LTR)), Orellana (LTR) ??, Morona-Santiago, and probably western Pastaza (confirmed by Horst Kach: Rio Landayacu).

The images on this page previously appeared on the Rhescyntis hermes hermes page. I am not sure if the reports from Orellana and Morona-Satiago, Ecuador, would be nominate hermes or hermes hermandensis.

Based on images I have seen, subspecies hermandensis has a more concave pm line that is intersected slightly above the inner margin by a dark brown extension from the wide am band, breaking the lighter median area into two sections. In the nominate subspecies, the pm line tends to be straighter and darker with a gradual, slight, even lightening of colour toward the median area. In hermandensis there seems to be a subparallel tracing of the pm line with a narrow lighter area between lines/bands. R. hermes hermandensis specimens tend to be larger than the nominate subspecies.

Rhescyntis hermes hermandensis male, Nauta Road km 74, Loreto, Peru,
February 2002, courtesy/copyright of Hubert Mayer.

Hermes hermandensis has an almost uniform dark olive brown ground colour, distinguishing it from hippodamia and pseudomartii, both of which have much paler, contrasting areas.

Rhescyntis hermes hermandensis male, Rio Landayacu, Pastaza, Ecuador,
April 4, 2008, 860m, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Rhescyntis hermes hermandensis male (verso), Rio Landayacu, Pastaza, Ecuador,
April 4, 2008, 860m, courtesy of Horst Kach.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Horst Kach reports an early April flight in Pastaza Province, Ecuador. Hubert Mayer reports a February flight in Loreto Department, Peru.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Rhescyntis hermes hermandensis males use their antennae to seek out females which scent at night.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae pupate in subterranean chambers.

Larval Food Plants

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.

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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 contempory friend/collector/etc.

I do not know the source of the genus name 'Rhescyntis' chosen by Hubner in 1819.

The species name 'hermes' is from Greek mythology. "Hermes, the herald of the Olympian gods, is son of Zeus and the nymph Maia, daughter of Atlas and one of the Pleiades. Hermes is the god of shepherds, land travel, merchants, weights and measures, oratory, literature, athletics and thieves, and known for his cunning and shrewdness. Most importantly, he is the messenger of the gods." Ron Leadbetter

The subspecies name, 'hermandensis", is indicative of a moth closely resembling R. hermes but having a geographical range associated with the eastern Andes (andensis) more so that the Guyano-Amazonian affiliation of R. hermes.