CASTNIIDAE - GIANT BUTTERFLY MOTHS
Approximately 150 species occur in Neotropical, Oriental and Australian regions. Greatest diversity is found in the Neotropical region, where all species belong to the subfamily Castniinae.

Characteristics
These are large, colourful and generally rare, day-flying moths with clubbed antennae - superficially resembling butterflies. Sensilla present on the antennal clubs. Large external ocelli and chaetosemata absent. Probocis often well-developed, occasionally reduced. Maxillary palpi small, labial palpi upturned. Epiphysis present and tibial spur formula 0-2-4. Sensory brushes occur on the pretarsus before the claws. Wings broad, venation little reduced. Wing coupling via frenulum-retinaculum system. CuP vein present or absent in both wings. Male genitalia with characteristically curved aedagus. Females typically with elongated ovipositor. (Scoble 1995).

Life Cycles
Endophagous larvae bore into stems of food plants, typically monocots such as bananas, bromeliads, palms and sugarcane. Some species are as a result considered economic pests. (Scoble 1995).

Classification

Superfamily Castinioidea: Family Castniidae: Subfamily Castniinae

Twelve species recorded in Paraguay.

References:
Scoble MJ 1995 - The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity - Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Click on the images to enlarge them.
Thanks to Sergio Rios for the list of Paraguayan Castniids.
Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this page were taken by Paul Smith, Sergio Rios and Andres Contreras and are used with their permission.
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FIGURE 1 - Imara satrapes - PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith November 2008).
FIGURE 2 - Gazera heliconioides - IBIS Collection, Universidad de Pilar, Departamento Ñeembucú (Andres Contreras August 2009).
FIGURE 3 - Gazera heliconioides - PN Cerro Corrá, Departamento Amambay (Sergio Rios August 2009).
FIGURE 4 - Riechia acraeioides - Asunción, Departamento Central (Sergio Rios August 2009).
FIGURE 5 - Castnia invaria - Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay, Departamento Central (Sergio Rios October 2009).
FIGURE 6 - Synpalamides phalaris - Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay, Departamento Central (Sergio Rios October 2009).
FIGURE 7 - Synpalamides rubrophalaris - Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay, Departamento Central (Sergio Rios October 2009).
FIGURE 8 - Telchin licus - Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay, Departamento Central (Sergio Rios October 2009).

ANNOTATED LIST OF THE CASTNIIDAE OF PARAGUAY By Sergio Rios

1. Imara satrapes catharina (Preiss, 1899)
Cited by Jorgensen (1930) for Dpto Guairá (Mbuvevo). f. sapucaya (Jörgensen, 1930) syn. de catharina: Sapucay (Lamas, 1995).U. Drechsel collected a specimen in Alto Paraná and Karina Atkinson collected another in Itapúa (see Fig 1).

2. Synpalamides phalaris, (Fabricius, 1793)
Benítez D. (1989 & 2000), cites it as Castnia sara missp. of Castnia sora Druce, 1896. Jorgensen (1930) cites it as Castnia phalaris sora Druce, 1896.
Specimen from Dpto Paraguarí in the MNHNP. (see Fig 6)

3.  Synpalamides rubrophalaris (Houlbert, 1917)
Cited for Paraguay by Rothschild (como Castnia (Sympalamides) mygdon form, rubrophalaris Houlb.) in Novitates Zoologicae 26. p32. 1 make, Sapucay, Paraguay, November 1903 (W. Foster) ;
1 male, Carapá, Dpto Alto Paraná (Ulf Drechsel), 1 female, Reserva de Mbaracayú, Dpto. de Pdte. Hayes (MNHNP).(see Fig 7)

4. Castnia invaria penelope, Schaufuss, 1870
Castnia icarus hoenhi, Jorgensen, 1930
Castnia icarus endelechia, Druce, 1893
Jorgensen (1930), cites these synonyms of C. invaria penelope, as well as Castnia icarus invaria, Walker, 1854. It is debatable whether this latter citation actually refers to the nominate subspecies Castnia invaria invaria.
Two specimens in the MNHNP, including a specimen from Dpto Alto Paraguay (Chaco), from Parque Nacional Defensores del Chaco. (see Fig 5)

5. Castnia juturna, Hopffer, 1856
Castnia juturna paraguayensis, en Strand, 1913 (Seitz). Y Castnia juturna vesta, cited by Jorgensen (1930), for the Villarrica area, Dpto Guairá.

6. Telchin licus laura (Drury, 1773)
Benítez Díaz (2000) includes it in his list of pest species in Paraguay, though apparently without citing data from Paraguay.
One specimen in the MNHNP, collected in Dpto Canindeyú. (see Fig 8)

7. Ceretes marcelserres (Godart, [1824])
Cited as Castnia inornata in Jorgensen (1930). Tapytá 8 leagues from San Juan Nepomuceno, Dpto. de Itapúa. Nov-Dec.

8. Prometheus cochrus (Fabricius, 1787)
Jorgensen (1930) citesP. garbei Foetterle, 1902, a synonym of this species, for Mbuvevó.

9. Gazera heliconioides micha, (Druce, 1896)
Jorgensen (1930) notes it to be common in all of eastern Paraguay. Ulf Drechsel collected a specimen in Sapucay, Dpto. Paraguarí. Andrés Contreras collected a specimen in Dpto. Ñeembucú (see Fig 2). Sergio Rios in Sapucay (October 2008).

10. Paysandisia archon, (Burmeister, 1879)
Montagud (2004) cites the species for Paraguay without further details, perhaps in error? Restricted to pampean habitats and matorral in Argentina and Uruguay.

11. Riechia acraeoides, (Guérin-Méneville, [1832])
Jörgensen (1930) cites it for San Bernardino.
Collected by Sergio Ríos in Asunción (Fig 3). End of March/beginning of April.

12. Frostetola gramivora (Schaus, 1896)
Castnia parana Strand, 1913 (In Seitz)
Several specimens from Hernandarias, Alto Paraná (Olaff Mielke com. pers.)

References
González, J. & Stünning. 2007. The Castniidae at the Zoologishes Forschungmuseum
        Alexander Koenig, Bonn (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). Ent. Zs. 117 (2): 89-93.
González, J. 2003. Castniinae (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) from Venezuela. V: Castnia      
       Fabricius and Telchin Hübner. Boletín del Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas. Vol.
       37. N° 3: 191-201.
Houlbert, 1917. En: Oberthur (ed.)
Lamas, G. 1993. Bibliografía de los Castniidae (Lepidoptera) americanos. Revista Peruana
       de Entomología. 35: 13-23.
Lamas, G. 1995. A critical review of J. Y. Miller's Checklis of the Neotropical Castniidae
       (Lepidoptera). Revista Peruana de Entomología. 37: 73-87.
Jörgensen, P. 1930. Los Castniidae de la Argentina y Paraguay. Revista de la Sociedad
       Entomológica Argentina 3(14): 175-180.
Kochalka J. A., D. Torres, B. Garcete & C. Aguilar. 1996. Orden Lepidoptera. En:
       Oscar Romero Martínez (ed.): Colecciones de flora y fauna del Museo de  
       Historia Natural del Paraguay. Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Asunción.
Miller, J. 1976. Studies in the Castniidae. II. Descriptions of Three New Species of Castnia
       s. l. Bulletin of the Allyn Museum. 34: 1-13.
Rothschild, W. 1919. Supplementary notes to the review of Houlbert and Oberthur´s
       monograph of Castniidae By Talbot & Prout. Novitates Zoologicae, 16: 1-27.
Talbot, G. 1919. Review of a monograph of the “Castniinae”. Novitates Zoologicae, 16:
       28-34.