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Giant Silkworm Moth Caterpillar (Lonomia obliqua) front view -
Giant Silkworm Moth Caterpillar (Lonomia obliqua) -
Female Amethyst Woodstar -
Southern Tamandua closeup -
Jaguar emerging from cover -
Southern Lapwing showing off its colors -
The Cock-tailed Tyrant doing what it does best -
Brazilian Bush Anole close-up -
Morpho epistrophus cf. argentinus - Epistrophus White Morpho / Borboleta-da-Coronilha (Fruhstorfer, 1907) -
Channel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus ariel) -
Burrowing Owl and Pampas Grass in Serra da Canastra NP, Brazil -
Trimezia juncifolia - amazing wild orchid of the Brazilian Cerrado -
Paepalanthus chiquitensis of the Brazilian Cerrado -
Eyes Bigger than His Beak - Cattle Tyrant Attempting to Swallow a Huge Dragonfly -
Dinoponera cf. quadriceps - Tocandira / Giant Amazon Ant (Kempf, 1971) -
![Phrygionis incolorata - Incolorata Moth (Prout, 1910) Lepidoptera: Bombycina: Geometroidea: Geometridae: Ennominae: Baptini
31th of October, 2018 announcement. I have never done this before in my posts but this time it will be different - Brazil is undergoing a process that may decide the fate of the entire planet as its lungs are located here. The new president of Brazil wants to merge the Ministry of Agriculture with the Ministry of the Environment, two antagonical sectors. If this happens, the impacts will be great worldwide. Sign this petition to stop it: https://peticaopublica.com.br/psign.aspx?pi=BR108740&fbclid=IwAR1_lnYiiXxof5Ec5Ve5NFrV2u4Ijt6GJsRIcfSm5Ee5ZimGvTWG9EySJ5M
Date of the picture: 10th of November, 2017 at 08:25:34pm.
Location: Brazil, Santa Catarina, Benedito Novo (Lat: -26.769057719280113, Long: -49.362608622009475, Accuracy in meter: 4.265954219920082)
Wingspan: 16 - 18mm
Sex: Possibly ♀
Phrygionis incolorata is a species of moth in the order Lepidoptera, subdivision Bombycina, superfamily Geometroidea, family Geometridae, subfamily Ennominae and tribe Baptini. Based on what is seen on the antennae and description below this is a female, but no assurance is given.
MORPHOLOGY AND A BIT OF THE ANATOMY FOR ACADEMICS:
Wingspan lies between 16mm - 18mm. Base of forewings made of a yellow metallic transverse band outlined by a black border. Postbasal area containing a longer yellow metallic transverse band outlined in black and the costa segment has a black spot and a yellow stripe going towards the base. Discal area next to the costa contains a black, medium dot and a yellow metallic stripe connecting the previous yellow band with the next in the postdiscal segment. Postdiscal segment has a large and long yellow metallic transverse band outlined in black that has continuity with the hindwings until the costa. Marginal area of the forewings with a fine yellow metallic band outlined in black on both sides with continuity until the apex of the hindwings and broken in the tornus by an ocellus. The overall coloring of the moth is brown. The genus has apomorphy in the male genitalia which is prominent, usually forked and a posterior extension of the juxta. The female genitalia has a signum as a dentate disc, hollow or not, or signum-absent. Antennae bipectinate in males and simple filiform in females. Front of the head is very narrow in males, but this information needs confirmation. Usually, members of the genus itself have three metallic-edged transverse bands on the forewings. The postdiscal band is more distinct and follows Oudeman's Principle as described. The hindwings has one or two small dark spots at the outer margin near or at vein M3. Forewings lack fovea and veins Sc and R1 meet to form a secondary cell. These spots may present themselves as partially metallic. The outer margin of the hindwings tend to be sharply angled or rounded. Tympanal cavity contains a well-developed sac extending from the wall. 6th tergite of the male abdomen may contain hair scale tufts, absent in a few species.
ENDS HERE
I could find close to no information on these moths. According to a source provided below, the genus is distributed as such:
Mexico; Guatemala; Belize; Honduras (Scoble); Costa Rica; Panama; Bahamas; Cuba; Jamaica; Dominican Republic; Puerto Rico; USA Virgin I. (Scoble); Guadeloupe (Herbulot, http://www.inra.fr/Internet/Produits/PAPILLON/geometri/texteng/geometri.htm); Dominica; Martinique; Trinidad; Colombia; Venezuela; Guyana; Surinam; French Guyana; Ecuador (Scoble); Peru; Brazil; Bolivia; Paraguay (Scoble); Argentina; Uruguay (Scoble); [USA: Texas (Scoble), and Florida].
Host plants MAY include Rampanea umberallis (Myrsinaceae) but this definitely needs confirmation.
Neotropical Ennominae members are significant components of tropical forests. The caterpillars feed on leaves of trees and shrubs. Attracted to lights, only the cycle of P. polita was described: http://livros01.livrosgratis.com.br/cp036346.pdf
Phrygionis incolorata's behavior, lifecycle, feeding habits and reproduction remains to be known and recorded. What is known, however, is that P. incolorata are of nocturnal activity.
The genus itself bears close resemblance to Pityeja and Opisthoxia, and must not be mistaken.
https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/135/2-3/121/2629570
http://eol.org/pages/442349/overview Animalia,Arthropoda,Arthropods,Baptini,Bombycina,Brazil,GEOMETROIDEA,Geometrid Moth,Insecta,Insects,Lepidoptera,Moth,Phrygionis incolorata,South America,animal,animals,arthropod,ennominae,geometridae,insect](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3305/68529_small.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1547683210&Signature=XScQmXIVtCLeVa70xu6gF2500ik%3D)
Phrygionis incolorata - Incolorata Moth (Prout, 1910) -
Leptophis ahaetulla ssp. - Giant Parrot Snake / Lora / Azulão-Boia (Linnaeus, 1758) -
King Swallowtail at Rest -
Drosera filiformis - Thread-Leaved Sundew (Raf. (1808)) -
Hypercompe icasia near the Vicitor's center of Serra da Canastra -
![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=1547683210&Signature=thI6nQpnGnozZdiPZsVdwbjDcxs%3D)
Thysania zenobia - Mariposa-Coruja / Owl Moth / Owlet Moth (Cramer, 1776) -
Mania (ex: Nothus; Sematura) empedocles (Cramer, 1782) -
Stilpnochlora cf. couloniana (old instar nymph) - Giant Katydid / Esperança-Gigante (Saussure, 1861) -
Arvelius albopunctatus - Maria-Fedida-do-Tomate (De Geer, 1773)