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Post by jshuey on Aug 14, 2014 13:39:27 GMT -8
 Hi - this bug was eating a cedar that I believe is not native to Belize - at least I've never seen any outside of the three planted around a cabin we stay in. Cedars that look like these are typically found in tall, cool mountains in Chiapas and Guatemala at 1,500 m or higher. This site is hot and dry at around 400m. So if I’m right, it presents an interesting dilemma. Is this cat local and jumped from Caribbean pine to a transplanted cedar? Or did the moth fly over from the nearest high mountains in NW Guatelama and colonize these shrubs? Either way – it’s interesting. John |
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Post by prillbug4 on Aug 14, 2014 13:57:33 GMT -8
When I was down in Belize in 2008, I saw a whole grouping of Saturnid larvae eating leaves in a tree. We were near the Sibun River area. I collected a lot of beetles with my sweep net, and also found some Cerambycidae larvae under dead tree bark, as well as a few adults. We did take pictures of them, but I didn't do the photography, Mark DuBois took the photographs. They were in their final instar at that point. That was the day when I decided to not use my sweep net and decided to collect butterflies and a few day flying moths.
Jeff Prill
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Post by oehlkew on Aug 15, 2014 19:34:11 GMT -8
Guacima/Bay Cedar is one of the host plants for Periphoba arcaei, and that appears to be the larva you have posted.
Bill Oehlke
PS P. arcaei is known from Stann Creek, Corozal, Cayo, Toledo, in Belize.
They feed on a great many hosts, but I do not see any pine species on my listings.
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Post by jshuey on Aug 16, 2014 5:05:19 GMT -8
Thanks Bill,
This is one of the few moths I've actually noticed over the years in Belize. I assumed it could be a pine feeder just by proximity - lots of pines in the area are the closest thing to the non-native cedar. Interesting that this bug is prepositioned to accept a transplanted hostplant used in landscaping
John
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Hi - this bug was eating a cedar that I believe is not native to Belize - at least I've never seen any outside of the three planted around a cabin we stay in. Cedars that look like these are typically found in tall, cool mountains in Chiapas and Guatemala at 1,500 m or higher. This site is hot and dry at around 400m.
