Subject: Rothschildia (?) in Ecuador
Geographic location of the bug: Umbrellabird Lodge, Buenaventura Reserve, near Piñas, El Oro, Ecuador
Date: 04/04/2019
Time: 02:52 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello again, Bugman.
I’m pretty sure this fantastic moth is a Rothschildia, but I haven’t been able to work out the species. (I really like this photo, because it shows the transparent wing panels so clearly – ha!)
How you want your letter signed: David
Dear David,
Your image of a female Rothschildia species is gorgeous, firstly because she is a magnificent specimen, but also because of the image’s tight compositional structure characterized by opposing diagonal lines. Alas, we don’t have the necessary expertise to provide you with a conclusive species identification, and of that we were assured when we browsed the 15 species and subspecies pictured on the World’s Largest Saturniidae site where the subtle variations in color and markings take an expert to discern. We will attempt to contact Bill Oehlke for assistance. If he requests permission to post your image to his site, may we grant it?
Bill Oehlke provides an identification
Thanks Daniel,
Here is id. Please express my thanks to David. Very nice picture.
Rothschildia lebecuatoriana eloroiana Brechlin & Meister, 2012
The Rothschildia most recently sent to me from El Oro is definitely a male, not a female.
Bill