Giant Silkmoth from Trinidad: Rothschildia vanschaycki

Trinidad Moths
Location: Trinidad
July 10, 2011 1:35 pm
Dear Bugman,
I found your homepage by chance when I tried to identify 3 very large moths we saw two weeks ago in Trinidad.
No1 is probably a white witch (picture taken at Asa Nature Lodge); No2 should be a Rothschildia taken at the ladies restroom in the visitor Centre of the Caroni swamps. No3 is a large silkmoth (at least 10cm wingspan)we had at the Radio and Tropospheric Scatter Station at Morne Bleu (670m high in the northern range). It would be nice, if you could help me with identification and/or confirmation of the three species.
Signature: Harald (Heidelberg, Germany)

Hi again Harald,
We learned on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site that your Giant Silkmoth is Rothschildia lebeau amacurensis.  Your specimen appears to be a male of a subspecies of Rothschildia lebeau which is also found in Venezuela.  The Encyclopedia of Life website has a photo of the female.

Correction:  March 15, 2013
Daniel,
Based on 2012 Entomo-Satsphingia journal, the Rothschildia on  the following page
Is Rothschildia vanschaycki, described in 2012.
Bill Oehlke
I will shortly be sending another Rothschildia update.