Rothschildia lebeau forbesi
rawths-CHILD-ee-uhMLEH-bohMFORBS-eye
Benjamin, 1934
Photo (male) courtesy of Leroy Simon.
This site has been created by
Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.
TAXONOMY:Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 |
"Girl from Ipanema"
midi by Mel WebbON.OFF |
DISTRIBUTION:
Forbe's Silkmoth (Wing span 10.0 - 12.5cm) flies only in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and in Mexico: Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.
Rothschildia lebeau forbesi belongs to a group of four species: lebeau, cincta, prionia, paucidentata. All four species lack white scales on the outer margin of the hindwings (possible exception: forbesi. In lebeau forbesi the forewing postmedian line is straight with a slight inward curve in the area between the costa and the outer angle of the hyaline spot.
This is also a smaller subspecies, but the forewing apex is pronounced and there are always some white scales in the forewing outer margins. Ground colour tends to be a very dark brown.
Rothschildia lebeau forbesi male, between Harlingen and McAllen, Rio Grande Valley, Cameron Co., Texas,
September 25, 2005, ex larva, courtesy of Harry King.
FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:
There are two broods from February-April and from September-November.
Some of the forbesi cocoons shipped from Texas in May-June from eggs deposited in March-April have begun yielding moths in mid June. This species is reported to have two flight seasons (early spring and fall) in Tuskes, Tuttle and Collins The Wild Silkmoths of North America. Both last year and this year we have seen a small percentage of the spring brood moths emerging in June instead of waiting until fall. Jeff had been storing the cocoons outdoors where they were exposed to some rain that they might not have experienced in warmer, drier extreme southern Texas. He feels the rain may have triggered development.
Larvae feed on a wide range of native and introduced plants including lime prickly ash (Zanthoxylum fagara), Mexican ash (Fraxinus berlandieriana), willow (Salix), peach (Prunus persica), citrus (Citrus), and acacia (Acacia). Jeff Keverline reports Rhus lanceolata, prairie flame leaf sumac, as a suitable host in Texas. He uses the same plant for lunas and found one of his forbesi, accidentally mixed with the lunas, was progressing nicely on the same host.
Rothschildia lebeau forbesi female, copyright Kirby Wolfe
Rothschildia lebeau forbesi, courtesy Michal Pikner
ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:
Adults emerge in the early evening, and mating occurs from about 10 PM to midnight. The wings of the female (image below) are less falcate than those of the male.
Rothschildia forbesi courtesy of Eric van Schayck.
EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:
Eggs are deposited in the evening on host plant leaves in rows of three to six.Young caterpillars feed in groups while older ones are solitary feeders.
Rothschildia lebeau forbesi second instar on privet, Texas stock,
Rothschildia lebeau forbesi fifth instar and cocoon on privet,
 Rothschildia lebeau forbesi fifth instar, courtesy Michal Pikner
Rothschildia lebeau forbesi fifth instar (found on oak!), McAllen, Hidalgo County, Texas,
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.
 Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon. Return to Main Index Return to Rothschildia Index Goto U.S. - Canada Index
The pronunciation of scientific names is
troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is
merely a suggestion.
There are many collectors from different countries whose
intonations and accents would be different.
The species name, lebeau, as well as the suspecies name
"forbesi" probably honour contemporaries, Lebeau and Forbes.
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