DISTRIBUTION:

The Titaea tamerlan amazonensis moth (wingspan: males: 120-151mm; females: 135-140mm) flies in
eastern Ecuador: Napo (common (LTR)), Sucumbios LTR, Morona-Santiago, Orellana LTR and possibly Pastaza WO?;
Venezuela: Tachira, Bolivar, Territorio Delta Amacuro, and probably Apure, Barinas and Amazonas;
Guyana;
Suriname: Riviere Itany, Moloko Imene, (Brownsberg, Brokopondo District (JvB));
French Guiana: Inini, Saul, Kaw, Cacao (OM), P. Isnard;
Brazil: Para, Amazonas, Bahia, Mato Grosso;
Colombia: Caqueta; and
Peru: Amazonas (LTR), Loreto (HM), Huanuco, Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali (VI) and probably San Martin, Junin and Pasco; in habitats from 100m to 1350m in elevation.

Titaea tamerlan amazonensis, female, courtesy of Steve Ife.

Steve Ife makes this interesting observation, "The Titaea are especially interesting in that the adult moths behave more like a Catocala than a saturniid. They are extremely alert and move about at the slightest disturbance. Their eyes also light up at night similar to many noctuids."

Titaea tamerlan amazonensis male, Atalaya, Ucayali Peru,
November 1, 2008, 350m, courtesy of Vladimir Izersky.

Basic ground colour is a brilliant light salmon with contrasting black markings in the subterminal area. However, some specimens have a ground colour tending toward beige with dark brown markings. The secondary hyaline spot, closest to the costa, is usually significantly smaller than the lower spot. The dark markings in the subterminal areas and around the hyaline spots are usually quite prominent, but, at other times, are almost non-existent as in the image from Serra do Penitente, Balsas, MA, Brazil, by Carlos Mielke.

Titaea tamerlan amazonensis male, courtesy of Hubert Mayer copyright.

Titaea tamerlan amazonensis male, Nauta Road km 74, Loreto, Peru,
February 2007, courtesy/copyright of Hubert Mayer.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are likely two broods each year with Titaea tamerlan amazonensis moths on the wing in January-February-March-April and then again in June-July. Vladimir Izersky reports an October-November flight in Ucayali, Peru. Hubert Mayer reports a February flight in Loreto, Peru.

Ott Maasikas reports an October and a December flight in French Guiana.

Titaea tamerlan amazonensis, Brownsberg, Brokopondo, Surinam,
February 24, 2009, courtesy of Shirley Sekarajasingham, id by Bill Oehlke.

Johan van't Bosch reports a July 7, 2011, flight in Brownsberg, Brokopondo District, Suriname. Please note that Johan's image of Titaea tamerlan amazonensis shows a darker male (not salmon) from Brownsberg, Suriname. If not for the location, I would more likely have determined it to be Titaea tamerlan nobilis which is thought to be more of a western Andean species.

Titaea tamerlan amazonensis male, Cacao, French Guiana, October 19, 2009, courtesy of Ott Maasikas.

Titaea tamerlan amazonensis male, French Guiana, December 12, 2009, courtesy of Ott Maasikas.

Titaea tamerlan amazonensis larvae will likely accept Bombacopsis quinatum.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Moths fly at night and females emit an airbourne pheromone to "call" the males. Eclosion from pupae seems to be under cover of darkness. There is a very noticeable difference in wing shape between males and females. Titaea tamerlan amazonensis female, French Guiana, courtesy of Carlot Didier. Titaea tamerlan amazonensis male, French Guiana, courtesy of Carlot Didier. EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE: First instar courtesy of Dan Zieher Larvae show dramatic structural and colour changes as they develop. This second instar larva, courtesy of Dan Zieher, is more armament than substance. Anal claspers are "supersized". The second instar shows a dramatic colour change. This third instar larva, courtesy of Dan Zieher, has taken on green colouration and is starting to bulk up. Scoli are still well developed. It is interesting to see how thoracic scoli project at same angle from center body line as smaller leaf veins emanate from larger ones. Dan is rearing this larva on Tilia. Titaea tamerlan amazonensis, third instar, courtesy of Steve Ife. Titaea tamerlan amazonensis, fourth instar, courtesy of Steve Ife. Titaea tamerlan amazonensis, fifth instar, courtesy of Steve Ife. Titaea tamerlan amazonensis, mature (dorsal), courtesy of Steve Ife. Titaea tamerlan amazonensis, mature (lateral), courtesy of Steve Ife. Pronounced thoracic and anal scoli of early instars are eliminated from final instar. Mature larvae pupate underground. Image courtesy of Chris Conlan. Larvae accept Bombacaceae, Chorisia speciosa, Tiliaceae: Tilia platyphyllos and Tilia cordata. Visit Titaea tamerlan amazonensis, instars 1, 4 and 5, Misahualli, Napo, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach. Visit Titaea tamerlan amazonensis instars, 1, 2, 4 and 5 courtesy of Leroy Simon. Visit Titaea tamerlan amazonensis eggs and all instars, courtesy of Alan Marson. Titaea tamerlan (female), courtesy of Angelo Santin, (more likely T. tamerlan amazonensis according to Frederic Beneluz) There is considerable colour and patterning variation among larvae. Image courtesy of Angelo Santin, (more likely T. tamerlan amazonensis according to Frederic Beneluz). 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. Bombacopsis quinatum..... Chorisia speciosa Tilia cordata Tilia platyphyllos Bombacopsis quinatum Chorisia speciosa Tilia cordata Tilia platyphyllos Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page. Return to Titaea Genus Return to Main Index 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. The genus name "Titaea" comes from the Greek Titaea, who is the mother of the Titans. Tamerlan is a ruthless military leader whose ambition for power and fame lead him to defeat his Turkish emperor, Bayaset. Th subspecies name, "amazonensis", indicates this moth is from the Amazon region.