Texas Lep Information

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Mariamne's Giant Flag Moth

Dysschema mariamne (Geyer, [1835])

Family Arctiidae, Subfamily Arctiinae, Tribe Pericopini

cf Dysschema howardi

Male 

Specimen curated in the TAMUIC.

Range: Tamaulipas, Mexico south to Central America 

Caterpillar Foodplants: 

Dysschema larvae have been recorded feeding on the following genera of Asteraceae

Bickellia 
Eupatorium 
Senecio
Vernonia 

Type Locality: Mexico 

Similar Species:

Northern Giant Flag Moth - Dysschema howardi  (Hy. Edwards, 1886)
Images of Genus Dysschema - Area De Conservación Guanacaste (ACG)
Some 90 Neotropical species of Dysschema primarily occur in South America

Texas Pericopini:

Dysschema howardi (Hy. Edwards, 1886) 
Gnophaela aequinoctialis (Walker, 1854)
Phaloesia saucia Walker, 1854

Etymology: 

Flag Moth - An common name coined for the subfamily Pericopinae by Hogue (1993)
dys (G). Bad, malicious, hard
=schema, -t, -to (G). Form, shape

References:

Aiello, A. & K.S. Brown, Jr. 1987 [1988]. Mimicry by illusion in a sexually dimorphic, day-flying moth, Dysschema jansonis (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae: Pericopinae). The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 26(1-4): 173-176.

Borror, D.J. 1960. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms. National Press Books, Palo Alto. 134 pp.

Boisduval, J.B.A.D. 1870. Considérations sur des lépidoptères envoyés du Guatemala à M. de l'Orza. Rennes, C.Oberthür. 100 pp.

Druce, H. 1884. Pericopidae. Pp. 105-112, In: Biologia Centrali-Americana. Insecta. Lepidoptera-Heterocera. Volume III . R.H. Porter, London. Pl. 77, fig 24. pg. 395.

Hering, M. 1925. Arctiidae: Percopinae Pp. 425-455, In: A. Seitz, (editor), 1940. The Macrolepidoptera of the World. Division II: The Macrolepidoptera of the American Region. Volume VI: The American Bombyces and Sphinges. Stuttgart. 1304 pp.

Hogue, C. 1993. Latin American Insects and Entomology. University of California Press, Berkeley. xiv + 594 pp.

Jacobson, N.L., & S.J. Weller. 2002. A cladistic study of the tiger moth family Arctiidae (Noctuoidea) based on larval and adult morphology. Thomas Say Publications in Entomology: Monographs. Entomological Society of America. 98 pp.

Knudson, E. & C. Bordelon. 2004. Illustrated Checklist of the Lepidoptera of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, TX. Vol. 2B : Macro-Moths. Texas Lepidoptera Survey, Houston. xiv + 59 pp. 20 plates.

McFarland, N. 1961. Notes on the early stages of Daritis (howardi?) (Pericopidae) from Cameron Peak, New Mexico. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 15(3): 172-174.

Watson, A. & D.T. Goodger. 1986. Catalogue of the Neotropical Tiger Moths. Occasional papers on Systematic Entomology of the British Museum (Natural History), 1: 1-71.

Weller, S.J., N.L. Jacobson & W.E. Conner. 1999. The evolution of chemical defences and mating systems in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 68, 557-578.

Young, A.M. 1981. Notes on the moth Pericopis leucophaea Walker (Lepidoptera: Pericopidae) as a defoliator of the tree Vernonia patens H.B.K. (Compositae) in northeastern Costa Rica. New York Entomological Society Journal 89: 204-213.

29 Mar 2007  © Mike Quinn / mike.quinn@tpwd.state.tx.us / Texas Entomology / Texas Lep Information / Diurnal Moths