![Thysania zenobia - Mariposa-Coruja / Owl Moth / Owlet Moth (Cramer, 1776) Lepidoptera: Bombycina: Noctuoidea: Erebidae: Erebinae: Thermesiini
Another picture: https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62098/thysania_zenobia_-_mariposa-coruja_owl_moth_owlet_moth_cramer_1776.html
And another:
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62097/thysanura_4-2.html
More pictures here: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1716585039
Location: Brazil, Ceará, Fortaleza (Lat: -3.75, Long: -38.51, 16th floor of a flat in an urban habitat)
Date: 10th of May, 2018 at 07:52:23pm.
Thysania zenobia is an uncommon moth in the order Lepidoptera, subdivision Bombycina, superfamily Noctuoidea, family Erebidae, subfamily Erebinae and tribe Thermesiini. This is a male. The name "Thysania" comes from the Greek, "Thysanus", meaning "a fringe", and "Zeno" means "Zenon", derived from the theonym "Zeus".
According to Butterflies and Moths (https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Thysania-zenobia):
Males can be distinguished from females through the observation of the forewings' stripe going from one end of the forewings to the other; this is absent in females. BugGuide states that males are more boldly marked (source at the end). They possess many zig-zag lines on all wings. Their hindwings are scalloped with grey outer margins of the forewings. Thysania zenobia are huge moths with a wingspan that ranges from 10 to 15cm. Thysania agrippina, another species of Thysania, are considered the largest moths wingspan-wise in the Americas, with a whopping 30cm wingspan. According to an unreliable source, Thysania agrippina has the most potent sense of smell in nature (http://www.rankbrasil.com.br/Recordes/Materias/0Laa/Maior_Mariposa_Do_Brasil) - Disconsider the picture; part of the information in there might be wrong).
A synonym is: Phalaena zenobia (Cramer, [1777]).
The moth is grey with, usually, blueish markings on the upperside of the wings (perhaps purple as well?) and an orangeish-red or brownish-cream underside. The antennae are setaceous and are dark brown. The thorax and the abdomen are dorsally grey, with a tuft of black hairs standing between them. Their palps are a shade of red with brown extremities. Their legs are both red and dark brown. The upperside of the forewings of my individual has a black stripe going from one end of the wings to the other; a second black stripe can be seen just a little below the first's middle, inclining towards the first when reaching the edges. The whole upperside of the wings is painted in many zig-zag lines, spots (such as the spot near the anterior margin of the forewings) and more irregular spots can be seen near the anterior margin of the upperside of the forewings. The upperside of the hindwings is grey with tones reaching up to a hue of brown. Their eyes are very large and compound. The underside of the wings has a bean-like spot near the anterior margin of the forewings. The underside of the wings are greyish-red with multiple black lines running paralleled with the edges of the wings and regularly placed one above the other. The third black line of the forewing's underside gets thicker as it reaches the anterior margin.
Thysania zenobia is native to Eastern North America, Central America, and ranges South at least to the Southeastern-most Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is also found on the larger Caribbean Islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. It is also found on Bermuda and the Galapagos Islands. No records seem to exist in the West of Texas and in Hawaii.
They seem to migrate North in September and October, with some records showing that they migrate North as early as late June. (http://texasento.net/zenobia.htm)
Their Hodges Number is 8647 with a phylogenetic sequence of #930758.
The known host plants of Thysania zenobia's larvae are Senna sp. (Mill.) (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae: Cassieae: Cassiinae) ("senna") and Cassia sp. (L.) (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae: Cassieae: Cassiinae) ("cassia"). (https://bugguide.net/node/view/6017), more precisely these ones:
Senna bicapsularis (L.) Roxb.
Cassia ferruginea ((Schrader) Schrader ex DC.)
Cassia fistulosa (L. ex Long & Lakela)
Cassia imperialis (Hort.)
This is the larva of Thysania zenobia:
1 - http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/Wadults/resultsallphoto.lasso?photocode dotj=DHJ9576.j - Head and thorax dorsally.
2 - http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/Wadults/photopage.lasso?photocode dotj=DHJ9577.j - Lateral view of the body.
3 - http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/Wadults/resultsallphoto.lasso?photocode dotj=DHJ9580.j - Ventral view of the abdomen.
The last larval instar seems to have a length of approximately 68mm.
I could find no information on the adult's host plants.
You can find an interactive map to their distribution here: http://texasento.net/Zen_map.htm
Another source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thysania_zenobia
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thysania_zenobia
https://bugguide.net/node/view/156381 Animalia,Arthropoda,Brazil,Erebid moth,Erebidae,Erebinae,Geotagged,Insecta,Insects,Lepidoptera,Moth,Noctuoidea,Owl Moth,South America,Thermesiini,Thysania,Thysania zenobia,brazilian moths,heterocera,insect](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3305/62099_small.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=9XKIY4g0KEqHxLanVchVQf6SQWw%3D)
Appearance
Upperside: Antennae setaceous and dark brown. Head the same. Thorax and abdomen grey: having a tuft of black hairs standing between them. General colour grey, faintly tinged with red. Anterior wings with a remarkable irregular black bar running from the tips to the shoulders, crossing the thorax horizontally, and parallel with the anterior edges; on the middle of this edge is a triangular dark brown spot edged with black, and nearer the body is a smaller one of the same shape and colour: a second narrower black line is situate about half an inch below, and parallel with the first, rising on the posterior edges, and extending across the wings almost to the external ones. Posterior wings with a black irregular bar arising near the external corners, and crossing them in a straight direction, meeting at the extremity of the abdomen; just above this, and almost close to it, is a very small and narrow waved black line running parallel with it, but towards the end suddenly turns off, and reaches the anterior edges. Besides the above markings there are a number of lighter and darker shades interspersed on the different parts of the wings.Underside: Palpi reddish, the extremities brown. Tongue spiral. Legs dark brown, mottled with red. Breast, abdomen, and sides red. Wings greyish red, with black indented lines and bars running parallel with the edges of the wings, and regularly placed one above another. Anterior wings having a black spot near their centre shaped like a kidney bean, with a small round one at a little distance nearer the body. Posterior having likewise a small black spot about half an inch from the base. Margins of the wings rather deeply scolloped. Wingspan 5+1⁄2inches.
dorsal
Illustrations of Exotic Entomology Phalaena Zenobia under.jpg|Illustration by Dru Druryventral
Thysania zenobia, male.JPG|Mounted male
References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
