Chilean Saturniidae id.

[Fernando]

Dear people,

I found this one lying dead in the ground. My guess is that it is a male Ormiscodes penai. The wingspan is around 4 cm.

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Thanks in advance!

[oehlkew]

Fernando,

Ormiscodes penai and Ormiscodes rufosignata are both reported from Valparaiso (I think that is where you encountered this one?).
They are similar in size and in appearance.
Usually penai has some yellowish scaling on the body side of the pm line and the lower half of the forewing basal area is almost pure, clear white.
Rufosignata, on the other hand has no yellow scaling on body side of pm line but does have some reddish brown from the costa about a third of the way down along the outer side of the pm line.
The same area in penai is very white.

I favour rufosignata for your specimen due to absence of yellow scaling proximal to pm line, and presence of reddish brown scaling distal of pm line from costa about 1/3 way down. There is also more dark scaling in lower half of basal area than I would expect to see in penai.

I could be wrong.

Bill Oehlke

Hope you can spread and display this one recto and verso after spreading and can also give a more precise location with elevation. Thanks for sharing your find. Perhaps you will find a female in your immediate area and be able to rear them.

I know of no reports of known foodplants or larval descriptions for either species.

[Fernando]

Dear Bill,

Thanks for your answer. I found this specimen in a trip I made to Olmué (Valparaíso region). The approximate coordinates are 33º 0' 16" S - 71º 10' 17" W, and the approximate elevation is 170 m (determined using Google Earth).

I did my best spreading the wings. I can't go further without relaxing the specimen, and to be honest, I don't have experience doing so. Here are some new pictures:

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i52.tinypic.com/2vjertg.jpg

Sadly, I'm not too sure about being able to find live specimens around here. Olmué, despite being not too far away from my hometown (Quilpué), has a more diverse fauna.

PS: in WLSS it says that O. rufosignata's abdomen is all black, whilst my specimen's is brownish.

[oehlkew]

Hi Fernando,
Statement about rufosignata's abdomen being all black refers to dorsal surface where one does not find the yellow rings evident in penai. The abdomen certainly looks black to me (from what I can see of it) , but I would agree that the thorax is reddsh brown, expecially on ventral surface.
Olmue would be a good location for rufosignata as it has also been recorded in Santa Cruz, Valparaiso, Chile.
Thanks for providing additional images and information. In many cases a view of the abdomen or at least a description of it can be helpful. Often precise locations and elevations can also e helpful.
I am not able to make these determinations with a quick glance at the specimens in question, sometimes yes, but often times no. The more information I have to go on the better.
I still very much feel it is rufosignata.

I am currently doing some ids of Automeris from Cundinamarca, Colombia. Automeris vomona and Automeris zugana can be very difficult to distinguish in worn specimens. Elevation, precise location and view of abdomens can be very hepful in making best guesses.

There are some instructions about softening specimens on WLSS and also on this site.

[Fernando]

I see. Thanks again for the reply.

I noticed that there are not pictures of O. rufosignata in WLSS. Would you want me to spread the specimen? It is very worn, so I don't know if pictures of it would be useful for your site.

[oehlkew]

I will just use the ones that you have already posted.
Bill Oehlke

PS. I have also updated the file to include a more precise description. I will upload soon.

[Fernando]

Nice! I'm glad I could contribute with the pictures.