DISTRIBUTION:

Rothschildia zacateca (wingspan: males: 82mm; females: 119mm // forewing length: males: 43-45mm; females: 67-68mm) is a rare species only found at very high altitude (7000' and up) in the mountains of
Colombia: Tolima; Boyaca; Cundinamarca; Nariono; Valle de Cauca near Bogota; and in
Ecuador: Morona-Santiago.

Nearly the entire hind wing of the male is covered by the large hyaline spot and there is no antemedial line on the hindwing.

This moth is very similar to Rothschildia chrisbrechlinae.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

In the wild the larvae feed on Symplocos alstonia (Styracaceae) and in the lab they have accepted Prunus serotina and P. salicifolia. However, in the lab there is very high mortality and many mature larvae fail to molt to the pupal stage once the cocoon has been constructed.

Resulting adults from lab reared material on Prunus have also been rather thinly scaled and not as colorful as wild specimens. Whether this is due to the substitute hostplant or not being raised at high altitude remains to be seen.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females attract the smaller, day-flying males with an airbourne pheromone.

The wings of the males are more angled than those of the female.

Rothschildia zacateca female courtesy of Chris Conlan

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Chunky larvae consume large amounts of foliage in final instar.

Images and information on this page are provided by Chris Conlan and Kirby Wolfe.

Rothschildia zacateca cycle, courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

Rothschildia zacateca larva copyright protected, courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

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.

Prunus serotina Symplocos alstonia.......

Wild/Black cherry Sweetleaf

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For additional images, go to Hubert Mayer image

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.

"Rothschildia" is chosen to honour one of the Rothschilds, possibly William.

Zacateca has many meanings. I do not know the reason for the selection for this species, but it may have something to do with the high altitude near the tree line.

Rothschildia zacateca male, Cartago, Valle de Cauca, Colombia,
82mm, on my home computer only.

Rothschildia zacateca female, Morona Santiago, Ecuador,
119mm, on my home computer only.