Syntomeida epilais

Guadeloupe Petit-Bourg, Route Forestière de Grosse Montagne, 20-VII-1982

Syntomeida epilais (Walker, 1854)

Arctiidae Ctenuchinae

Biology

This species was accidentally introduced (together with Empyreuma affinis Roths.). It was found for the first time in Martinique in 1981 and in Guadeloupe in 1982 (Chalumeau and Benito-Espinal, 1984, Bull. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 53: 175-182).

The larva feeds on oleander, Nerium oleander, where it competes with E. affinis. It seems that the extension of S. epilais was correlated with a decrease in E. affinis (although recent data would be required to confirm this).

Distribution

Martinique: rare (Ryckewaert), Guadeloupe: S. epilais was first discovered around the airport at Pointe à Pitre and then extended to Grande Terre.
Les Saintes, Marie-Galante.

St-Kitts (Ryckewaert), St-Lucia.

Mexico, Honduras, Florida (ssp. jucundissima Dyar).

Legend

Pheromone and sexual behaviour

S. epilais flies during the day but mates at night (a few hours before dawn). The sex pheromone produced by the female moths has been described (Descoins et al., 1989, C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, III, 309: 577-581.). It consists of:

(Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-heneicosatriene: 10%
(cis)-9,10-epoxy-(Z,Z)-3,6-heneicosadiene: 90%

Source: Pherolist, a database on sex pheromones of Lepidoptera and related attractants.

The chemical composition is identical to that of Empyreuma affinis and species isolation might rely on auditory signals.

The sex pheromone produced by female Syntomeida epilais attracts males from tens of meters away. When the male moth arrives within 5 meters of the female, it produces a sound emitted by metathoracic organs. The female ready to mate responds by sounds of a different modulation cycle rate. The final approach of the male is then mediated by alternate stridulations of both sexes (Sanderford and Conner, 1990, Naturwissenschaften, 77: 345-347).

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