Immature stages, phenology, distribution and host plants of the Andean Moon Moth Cercophana frauenfeldii Felder, 1862 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

Joaquín E Sepúlveda,Diego Muñoz-Concha,Héctor A Vargas,Luis E Parra,Enrique A Mundaca

doi:10.1590/1806-9665-rbent-2019-0017

Abstract

Abstract Cercophana frauenfeldii Felder (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), also known as the “Andean Moon Moth”, is a Neotropical species native to continental Chile whose larvae feed on species of the families Gomortegaceae, Laureaceae and Winteraceae. We describe and document C. frauenfeldii immature stages, namely, egg, its four larval instars, and chaetotaxy of the last instar, pupa and cocoon for the first time. In terms of its phenology, we extend its larval activity, originally described to occur between November and mid-December, to June until the end of January. We report the adult flight period depends on the species’ distributional range following two well-differentiated patterns: February to mid-April in Central-North Chile and April to June in Central-South Chile. Furthermore, we provide a unified view of its current distributional range and host plants (including the endangered tree Gomortega keule) through bibliographic data, field observations and laboratory rearing. Finally, we discuss aspects of the species’ conservation as part of the unique ecosystems found in the temperate forests of southern South-America.

Highlights

The Saturniidae family is represented in Chile by two subfamilies, two tribes, seven genera and 19 species distributed from the Coquimbo to the Magallanes regions (Angulo et al, 2004)
For example, that the report made by Zúñiga-Reinoso and Sepúlveda (2016) of a parasitized larva of C. frauenfeldii occurring at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park in Magallanes, confirms previous reports made by Ureta (1944), validated by Artigas (1994) and Angulo et al (2004), who proposed a distributional range between Valparaíso and Tierra del Fuego
This study contributes to advancing the knowledge of the immature stages of C. frauenfeldii

Summary

Introduction

The Saturniidae family is represented in Chile by two subfamilies, two tribes, seven genera and 19 species distributed from the Coquimbo to the Magallanes regions (Angulo et al, 2004) Within these groups, the conspicuous Cercophaninae, known as “Andean Moon Moths” (Heppner, 2002), is a subfamily distributed along Chile, whose species resemble the northern hemisphere species of the genus Actias Leach, 1815 or “moon moths”. The conspicuous Cercophaninae, known as “Andean Moon Moths” (Heppner, 2002), is a subfamily distributed along Chile, whose species resemble the northern hemisphere species of the genus Actias Leach, 1815 or “moon moths” This subfamily has been considered to be a basal group of the family Saturniidae (Regier et al, 2008) with a “New World” distribution (Lemaire and Minet, 1999). Both species are medium sized moths with prominent tails in the males and variable colouration (Wolfe and Balcázar-Lara, 1994)

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