DISTRIBUTION:

Saturnia (Rinaca) kitchingi (forewing length: 38mm) flies in the Shaanxi Province of China.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

A specimen has been taken in September. I suspect this species flies as a single brood in the fall and eggs overwinter.

Paratypus dorsal / Paratype upperside in coll. Brosch, D-32479 Hille (Germany)
CHINA: Shaanxi province, Tai bai shaan Mts. (S), Tsinling Mts.,
Houzbenzi; September 1998, leg. local collector via R. Brechlin

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of their abdomens to "call" the males. Males use their antennae to hone in on the airbourne pheromone.

Saturnia (Rinaca) kitchingi male,
courtesy of Victor Sinjaev and Steve Kohll.

Steve writes, "The male is diurnal and flapping away just an hour after inflating."

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

The egg stage is believed to be tthe diapausing stage.

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.

Saturn is the Roman god of agriculture and father of Jupiter. Perhaps the fall flight (harvest-agriculture) of these moths is responsible for the choice of 'Saturnia' as a genus name, but it is more likely the rings around the eyespots, suggesting the rings of the planet Saturn that earned this group of moths its genus name.

I do not know the origin of the subgenus name 'Rinaca'.

The species name "kitchingi" is honourific for Dr. Ian Kitching.