Rothschildia erycina

Rothschildia erycina
Male
Male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Rothschildia
Species:
R. erycina
Binomial name
Rothschildia erycina
(Shaw, 1796)
Synonyms
  • Bombyx splendens Palisot de Beauvois, 1805
Male from Loreto, Peru

Rothschildia erycina, or Rothschild's silk moth, is a moth of the family Saturniidae first described by George Shaw in 1796. It is found from Mexico to Brazil and Paraguay. The habitat is tropical rainforest and wet savannah. It is found on altitudes of up to 1,200 meters above sea level.

The larvae feed on Ailanthus altissima,[1] Coutarea, Exostema,[1] Ligustrum,[1] Antonia, Cenostigma, Chiococca and Dodonaea species. The larval stage lasts about 40 days. Pupation takes place in a large silken cocoon. The pupal stage lasts 3 to 4 weeks.

Subspecies

  • Rothschildia erycina erycina
  • Rothschildia erycina mexicana Draudt, 1929 (Mexico)
  • Rothschildia erycina nigrescens Rothschild, 1907 (Costa Rica to Ecuador)

References

  1. ^ a b c Stone, Stephen E. (1991). Foodplants of World Saturniidae. Los Angeles, Calif.: Lepidopterists' Society. p. 33. ISBN 0-930282-05-1.
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