On the Larval Forms of Several Exotic Ceratocampid Moths

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, Jul 2018

A. S. Packard

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On the Larval Forms of Several Exotic Ceratocampid Moths

International Journal of BY A. S. PACKARI> PRUYIDENL'E R. I. - The lanae here d escribed are of moths hereto fore re fe rr ed t o the family S<1turniidae. They are however mem­ bers of quite ano th e r group, a great family or superfamily of which the Ceratoca mpidae o f th e olde r authors (Citheroniidae) Agliinae and perh aps four or fiv e other groups are co mpo­ nents. F or example. Nudaurelia, of which there are about twenty species, and which were confounded with Anth­ eraea, until separated by Rothschild. is, though an African genus, hot h in its imaginal and larval char acte rs al li ed to our American Ceratoca mpids. Th is is also the case with Gynanis,r in:,·, and Cru!a sinope. I might also add that after a prolonged study of the \'en at ion and other ch.uacters, besides what little we know of the larval hi stories, I ha\·e come to the conclusion that many other genera heretofo re refer red to th e Saturn­ iidae, will have to h e remov ed from that fa mily, and placed in this group. :\p­ p:ue ntly non e of these genera are spin­ ners but, like Citheronia, Eacles, .\ni­ sota, Sphingicampa, etc., enter the ea rth to finish t heir transformations, and spin n o cocoon. T he group as we are now disposed to limit it is di\·icled into about six sub­ Lunil ies, an d comprises about thirty fi\·e genera. including the fi\'e genera (Sr>·­ spln'nx, Spltingic,rmj<l, A ni.wfcl, EaJ, .,· .rnd Citlttronia) usually referred to the ( 'er;l­ tocampidae. The Eurasian genus .·l.(iicr is a typ e of the subfamily .rl.rlilit ,,., .rnd does not belong with the Saturniidae. though universally referred to that family , but falls into the group under consider­ ation. The foll"wing genera with the s ix provi-;ional groups referred to, by their imag!n .1l ch,Jracters, i.e. the \'<·rn­ tion, antt•nn:Je, etc., as ll'ell as \I'ILlt 11e knuw o[ their tr.lnsfonuations, sh"uld IH' t.tken out of the S,rturniiclae ancl .'~;,oci­ ated \\'ith the C::ratuca mpidae ( r 'lther­ o,Jii,!J _·): I-;~ ides ( r) t ,,, <:itheroniidae. there is -· ' ~,-,.,. rPjll·esentecJ by :\ I icratta­ cus. Lt.~L. J~u ,_J_. ·j 1. anr: ..; 1gana. 3· A group ( A~liin:w) represented by .\r;,enura. Rhescyntis, Agli~1. Cer­ cophana. ('irina, and Psta, with a side genus l'olythysana. 4· A group comprising Dysdaemon ia an d Copiopteryx, and perha ps Ti taea ~wd Loxolomia. [December, HjOI 5· A group represented by Eudaemo­ nia, Urota, Eudelia; and finally (6) a group containing the following genera, Bunaea, Imbrasia, Gynanisa, Salassa, Nudaurelia, Antherina, l\Ielanocera, and Cinabra, with two undescribed genera, one represented by Btmtu•a phat"dusa and another by Nut/aurelia /Je/ina. It will be a matter of interest to con­ sider the geographical distribution of this great group, now comprising some thirty-six (probably forty) genera. All but two genera (Aglia and Salassa) the former Eurasian, the latter Asiatic, are either Neogaeic (Central and South American) or Ethiopian (Equatorial and South African). Of these thirty-four (perhaps 36-38) genera, seventeen are African, and about the same number (Is­ I6, perhaps IS) are South American. This fact in the distribution of the group is of interest in connection with the re­ lations between the South American and African flora and fauna, of which so much has recently been written, confirm­ ing the view that perhaps at the close of the cretaceous period and through the early tertiary there may have been a land connection between the two continents. There are about thirty genera of Sat­ urniidae; of these we know the larval forms of seventeen genera. But of the larger group in question we know the larval stages of but thirteen genera and that very imperfectly. Besides the larva of a single species of Nuclaurelia, of Gynanisa and of Urota, we know only that of Th;,dla zam/luia roughly figured by Maassen and \\'eymer, of Bunaca a!{_1'1/0c briefly described by Auri villi us, that of the Eurasian Aglia and the South American forms Cercophana, Rhescyntis, Arsenura, and the Ceratocampid genera Syssphinx, Sphingicampa, Anisota, Eades and Citheronia, or thirteen genera. In this great family whose larvae are so sphinx-like in general shape, in the form of the anal legs, head, and other features, besides the pupa and subterra­ nean habits the name Sphingicampidae may be suggested. The name Cerato­ campidae might be used in an extended sense but by the present rules its use is unfortunately forbidden. NunAURELIA DIONE (Fabr.). Larz•a.- 1-Iead as in Gynanisa isis. large, smooth, but dull black, ,hining but a little. and seen to be finely granulated under a lens, the granulations grouped in lines. Ilead a Iittle more than one-half as thick as the body, which i> eylindrical, not quite so thick as in Gynanisa. The body is uniformly dull vel· ,·ety black, except the groups of yellow warts. Prothoracic shield black, roughly corrugated tranS\'ersely, \\·ith no spines. but a simple pale dorsal hair on each side. Second thoracic s (...truncated)


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A. S. Packard. On the Larval Forms of Several Exotic Ceratocampid Moths, Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, 9, DOI: 10.1155/1901/249259