Saturniidae of Uruguay

"Most of Uruguay is a gently rolling plain that represents a transition from the almost featureless Argentine pampas to the hilly uplands of southern Brazil. The country itself has flat plains on its eastern, southern, and western edges. The narrow Atlantic coastal plain is sandy and marshy, occasionally broken by shallow lagoons.

"The remaining three-quarters of the country is a rolling plateau marked by ranges of low hills that become more prominent in the north as they merge into the highlands of southern Brazil. Even these hilly areas are remarkably featureless, however, and elevations seldom exceed 200 meters.

"Uruguay is a water-rich land. Prominent bodies of water mark its limits on the east, south, and west, and even most of the boundary with Brazil follows small rivers."

Located entirely within the temperate zone, Uruguay has a climate that is fairly uniform nationwide. Seasonal variations are pronounced, but extremes in temperature are rare. High humidity and fog are common. The absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, makes all locations vulnerable to high winds and rapid changes in weather as fronts or storms sweep across the country.

Seasons are fairly well defined, and in most of Uruguay spring is usually damp, cool, and windy; summers are warm; autumns are mild; and winters are chilly and uncomfortably damp. Northwestern Uruguay, however, is farther from large bodies of water and therefore has warmer summers and milder and drier winters than the rest of the country. Average highs and lows in summer (January) in Montevideo are 28° C and 17° C, respectively, with an absolute maximum of 43° C; comparable numbers for Artigas in the northwest are 33° C and 18° C, with the highest temperature ever recorded (42° C). Winter (July) average highs and lows in Montevideo are 14° C and 6° C, respectively, although the high humidity makes the temperatures feel colder; the lowest temperature registered in Montevideo is -4° C. Averages in July of a high of 18° C and a low of 7° C in Artigas confirm the milder winters in northwestern Uruguay, but even here temperatures have dropped to a subfreezing -4° C.

Rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, and annual amounts increase from southeast to northwest. Montevideo averages 950 millimeters annually, and Artigas receives 1,235 millimeters in an average year. As in most temperate climates, rainfall results from the passage of cold fronts in winter, falling in overcast drizzly spells, and summer thunderstorms are frequent.

High winds are a disagreeable characteristic of the weather, particularly during the winter and spring, and wind shifts are sudden and pronounced. A winter warm spell can be abruptly broken by a strong pampero, a chilly and occasionally violent wind blowing north from the Argentine pampas. Summer winds off the ocean, however, have the salutary effect of tempering warm daytime temperatures.

The descriptions above would lead one to expect a greater diversity of Saturniidae species, however, Uruguay is lightly forested with around six percent forest cover. The country is comprised principally of a large undulating plain rising to a low mountain range, the serrianas, in the eastern third of the country. The natural vegetation is primarily prairie grass though nearly 90 percent of the land is in some agricultural use. The country´s natural forests are predominantly low temperate scrubland forests.

Many thanks to Christopher Prevett who has granted me permission to post his Saturniidae images and data to the WLSS. Christopher presents many species not previously recorded in Uruguay. Those species followed by his initials were not reported by Lemaire. Based on the large numbers of newly (2008-2011) described Saturniidae species (Brechlin & Meister) from other South American countries, I suspect there will be some new additions from Uruguay.

Attacinae

Rothschildia jacobaeae courtesy of Chris Conlan

Those species and subspecies followed by a "*" are listed by Lemaire in his Attacinae, 1978.

An "en" indicates the species is thought to be endemic to Uruguay.

Rothschildia arethusa CP

R. speculifer siriae *

Rothschildia jacobaeae *

CERATOCAMPINAE: Citheronia vogleri courtesy of Leroy Simon Those species and subspecies followed by a "*" are listed by Lemaire in his Ceratocampinae, 1987. Citheronia b. brissotii * Citheronia vogleri * Eacles i. magnifica CP

HEMILEUCINAE: Automeris Coresus Moth courtesy of Leroy Simon. Those species and subspecies followed by a "*" are listed by Lemaire in his Ceratocampinae, 1987. Automeris coresus * Automeris illustris * Automeris naranja CP Eudyaria zeta * Heliconisa pagenstecheri * Dirphia nicholasi Hylesia nigricans CP Hylesia pallidex * Leucanella aspera aspera * L. viridescens viridior * Lonomia obliqua * Molippa sabina CP Periga falcata * Pseudautomeris grammivora *

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Lonomia obliqua CL; is reported from Cerro Largo, Maldonado, Paysandu.

P. falcata CL; is possibly reported from Montevideo.

Maria Gabriela Betancur Viglione recently sent me a Sphingidae checklist for Uruguay.

Maria Gabriela writes, February 23, 2011:

Estimados amigos:

El motivo de esta comunicación es informarles que a partir del lunes 28 de este mes sale mi nuevo libro: Mariposas del Uruguay, Argentina, Brasil y Paraguay.

Esta es la primer guía de mariposas del Uruguay; con más de 100 fotografías de 80 especies frecuentes en nuestro país y países vecinos.

Por ejemplo en este libro van a ver a la especie T. Agripina con hasta 35 cm de envergadura, lo que la transforma en una de las más grandes del mundo además de varias especies de hermosos colores tanto diurnas como nocturnas.

Cada ficha se complementa la descripción de la especie, con mapas de distribución para Uruguay, sur de Brasil, Argentina y Paraguay; hábitat más frecuente para localizar a los adultos; así como las plantas hospederas de las orugas, para aquellos interesados en la reproducción de estos seres increíbles.

El costo del mismo a un precio lanzamiento de $300 (pesos uruguayos) . Los interesados podrán solicitarlo al e-mail: Maria Gabriela Betancur Viglione o al celular de la autora: 095 205 900

Agradecemos la difusión de esta noticia!!

Saluda atentamente,
María Gabriela Bentancur Viglione
Magister en Zoología
Email: Maria Gabriela Betancur Viglione
Cel: 095 205 900
www.guyunusa.com

Disclaimer: I (Bill Oehlke) have not seen this book, but I believe it is probably very well done. However, as with any internet transaction, proceed at your own risk.

Spanish to English transaction:

This is the first guide to butterflies of Uruguay, with over 100 photographs of 80 species common in our country and neighboring countries.

For example in this book will see the species T. Agrippina with up to 35 cm wingspan, making it the one of the largest in the world besides several species of beautiful colors day and night.

Each photo will complement the description of the species, distribution maps of Uruguay, southern Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay most common habitat to locate adults and host plants of caterpillars, for those interested in learning more about these incredible beings.

Currency converter indicates 300.00 UYU = approximately 15.5007 USD, February 23, 2011. I do not know the shipping charges. Contact Maria Gabriella by email or cell phone for more details. I do not know if the book covers any Saturniidae species.