Biology and morphology of Molippa cruenta (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in the laboratory

Abstract

The goal of this contribution was to study the biology and morphology of all developmental stages of Molippa cruenta (Walker, 1855), a member of Hemileucinae (Saturniidae), endemic to southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. Daily observations were carried out on individuals reared under controlled temperature (25 ± 1ºC), relative humidity (70 ± 10%) and photophase (14 hours of light). The duration and viability of each developmental phase, as well as morphological and behavioral aspects of each stage, were evaluated. Under laboratory conditions, the life-cycle of M. cruenta was completed in 150 days, with mean periods for egg, larva, pupa and adult phases being 35, 71.95, 37.85, 19.17 and 4.81 days, respectively. The larval phase included six instars, with an average growth rate of 1.46. The study of the immature stages of M. cruenta revealed several morphological characteristics that are distinct from other species of the genus, highlighting the importance of these stages for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies

Biological aspects of Periga circumstans Walker, 1855 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae: Hemileucinae) with larvae reared on khaki and mate-plant leaves

“…In addition, after the behavioural reaction is triggered, the larvae regurgitate a greenish substance and disperse throughout the cage, impairing their ability to return to their original state of aggregation. This aggressive behaviour, followed by dispersion, could be responsible for the low larval viability (Table 2) in comparison with previous reports for A. illustris (91.6 %; Specht et al, 2006a), A. naranja (97.3%) (Specht et al, 2007) and Molippa cruenta (Walker, 1855) (91,6%) (Specht et al, 2010). We strived to interfere as little as possible with the larvae during the maintenance activities, at least until the prepupal period.…”

“…Likewise, the pupae showed reduced viability (Table 2) in comparison with previous reports for A. illustris (98.7%) (Specht et al, 2006a), A. naranja (95.1%) (Specht et al, 2007) and M. cruenta (100%) (Specht et al, 2010), but superior to the viability of L. obliqua (71.4%) (Lorini et al, 2007).…”

“…It is clear that P. circumstans showed reduced overall survival (Table 2) when compared with other Hemileucinae bred in similar conditions. The survival rates we found, which varied from 39.70 to 40.99%, represent nearly half of those found for A. illustris (79.87%) (Specht et al, 2006), A. naranja (83.94 %) (Specht et al, 2007) and M. cruenta (90,5%) (Specht et al, 2010). This reduced viability is related mainly to the difficulties in rearing the larvae, which respond aggressively to several stimuli, similarly to what has been observed for L. obliqua in the laboratory (Lorini, The differences between the sizes of the pupae, according to the host plant, are expressed in the last column and between the genders on the line.…”

“…As observed for most Hemileucinae (e.g. Lemaire, 2002;Specht et al, 2006aSpecht et al, , 2006bSpecht et al, , 2007aSpecht et al, , 2007bSpecht et al, , 2009Specht et al, , 2010, larvae of P. circumstans, particularly in the first instar, have a gregarious habit. For this reason, it was not possible to rear each larva individually to estimate the duration of the instars separately.…”

Biology and life table of Dirphia araucariae (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae): A herbivore of potentially high impact on Araucaria angustifolia

“…The mean growth rate of D. araucaraiae (i.e. 1.42) is very similar to other Hemileucinae moths [e.g., Automeris Hübner, 1819 (SPECHT et al 2006b(SPECHT et al , 2007b, Hylesia Hübner, 1820 (SPECHT et al 2006a(SPECHT et al , 2007a, Leucanella Lemaire, 1969(SPECHT et al 2009), Molippa Walker, 1855(SPECHT et al 2010 and Periga Walker, 1855 (SPECHT et al 2011)], and was consistent with expectation for Lepidoptera in general (~1.45) (DYAR 1890).…”