Travassosula madrediosiana
Updated as per Entomo Satsphingia, Jahrgang 7 Heft 3 30.09.2014; December 6, 2014

Travassosula madrediosiana
tragh-vas-suh-SOO-luhMchuh-quih-SAY-shee-an-nuh
Brechlin & Meister 2014

Travassosula madrediosiana HT male, 57mm, Madre de Dios, Peru,
February, 2006, 800m, on my home computer only.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Tribe: Hemileucini, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Genus: Travassosula, Michener, 1949

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DISTRIBUTION:

Travassosula madrediosiana (forewing length: males: 28-29mm) flies in
Peru: Madre de Dios, at elevations of 800-1200m.

T. madrediosiana is more reddish brown than the other Travassosula species. The excavation along the hindwing costa is large and deep and almost totally open, whereas in similar species the excavation is not so deep and is often partially obstructed by projestions along the costa.

The very similar muleriata is known from Junin, Peru, while thus far subfumata seems limited to southeastern Peru and the darker chuquisaciana seems limited to Bolivia.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in January-February and August-September. There are probably additional flight months.

The larval host is unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are probably laid in rings of 25-35 eggs/ring.

Pupation is probably in a shallow underground chamber or under loose debris.

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 "Travassosula" chosen by Michener in 1949, but it is probably honourific for Travassos.

The species name "madrediosiana" is indicative of a specimen type locale in Madre de Dios, Peru.

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