228 PRINCIPES [VoL.37

Principes,3T(4),1993, pp.228 229 A New Pest of the African Oil Palm in the Neotropics: Periphoba hircia (LepidopteraSaturniidae )

Guv CourunrERr ANDFnerucIs KaHN2 'Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Entomologie Antenne ORSTOM, 45, rue Bufon, 750O5 Paris, France 'ORSTOM, CP 09747, 70OO1-970 Brasilia (DF), Brazil

Five soeciesof Hemileu- cessionary. Pupation period varies from 40 cinae cauie defoliation of the African oil to 50 days in Peruvian Amazonia. palm, Elcteisguineensis Jacquin, in the In the Maniti River valley we also found Neotropics(Genty et al. l97B). According caterpillars of Automeris liberia causing to Lemaire (pers. comm.) these include: damage to the palms. "pest Automeris liberia (Cramer, 1780), A. Periphoba hircia is a new of cinctistiga (R. Felder & Rogenhofer, medium consequencewhich could become I875), A. bilinea(Walker, lB55),1. sp. dangerous" as concluded by Centy et al. and Pseudodirphict gregafus (Bouvier, (1978) for the other five Saturniidae pre- r924). r iously reported on Elaeis guineensis in Damagecaused by thesecaterpillars can the Neotropics. becomeimportant. One individual destroys 400 to 1,000 cm' of leaf, i.e., 2 to 4 Acknowledgments pinnae;the critical thresholdis 50 to I00 This work has beensupported by the per palm (Centy et al. I97B). caterpillars international agreement between ORSTOM Cateroillars of Hemileucinaehave been consideredpolyphagous by Janzen(1984). On Octoberl99l we found caterpillars of Periphobahircia eatngleares of flaers guineensisin an B year old, 500 ha plan- tation located in Peruvian Amazonia, Departmentof Loreto, Province of May- nas, in the lower Maniti River valley, near Paperovillage, 3o24'5, 72o45'W. Eleva- tion is 125 m above sea level. The sur- roundingvegetation is tropical rain forest. Average annual rainfall is 2.3 m with a peak in February and the driest period in August. The biology of Periphoba hircia was studiedby Gardiner(1967). Up to 200 eggsare laid by a female (Fig. l) in cap- tivity. Incubationperiod is 53 daysat20- 25oC. Caterpillarsare gregariousand pro- l. Female of Periphoba hircta. l ee3l COUTURIERAND KAHN: NEOTROPICALOIL PALM PEST 229

(France)and IIAP (Peru)with grant SRE- tion and larval variation. Journal of the Lepi- TIEIMERE/9L2O9. We are indebtedto dopterists'Society 2I(3): 198-204. C. Lemaire who identified the and Gnnry, P., R. Drsurrn or CHENoN,AND J. P. MonrN. 1978. Les ravageurs du palmier i huile en to G. Arce for the logisticassistance in the Am6riquelatine. Ol6agineux33(7): 326-420. field. JeNzrN, D. H. 1984. Two ways to be a tropical big : Santa Rosa saturniids and sphingids. LrreneruRs Crren Oxford Surveys in Evolutionary Biology I: 85 140. GARDINER,B. O. I967. Thelifehistoryof Peripho- ba hircia (Saturniidae)with a note on distribu-

Principes,37(4), I993, pp.229-231

INDEX

Acoelorraphewrightii 96, 97, II3, 222 Borchsenius,F. Acrocomia172 Flowering biology and visitation of three Ecuadorean Actinokentia divaricata ]27 Aiphanes species 139 Actinorhytis calapparia 176 Brahea56, 169; armata, 225; brandegeei217, 218; edulis Aiphanes52, I 23, 139, 140, I47 , 148; aculeata139, I47 , 55, \63, 217, 225 176; caryotifolia125, 136; chiribogenisI39, 140, 141, Brassiophoenixschumannii 130, f34, 136 142, 143, 145, 146, 147; erinacea139, 140, 141, Braun, A. 168 I+2, I43,144,145,146, I47; eggersiiI39, I40, 141, Burretiokentiahapala 136; vieillardii127, 136 142, 143, 145, 146,147; lindeniana51 Butia, 56, 58, 118, 222; capitata176, 2I7,225 Aleman,M. M., as coauthorl5I xButiagrus nabonnandii 176 Alloschmidiaglabrata I34, 135, 136 Cabello, J., as coauthor Ammandra 148 Calamus209; hollrungii206, 207,2Q9: vanuatuensis203, Aphandra148 2O4, 206, 207 , 208, 209; vitiensis 206, 207, 209 Archontophoenix52, I27, L36,224,226; alexandrae51, Calyptrocalyxspicatus 136; stenoschista134, 135, 136 53,56,58,113, I24; cunninghamiana113, 124 Calyptrogyne sarapiquensis74, 78 Arckal, G. D., as coauthor165 Carpentaria acuminata 52, I l3 Areca 173; aliceae5l; catechu 135, 165, 167, 192; gup- Carpoxylon macrospermum 204 pyana I27 , I2a, 136; ipot I 36; langloisianaI 09; latiloba Caryota52; albertii204; cumingii 192; mitis 5?, 136, 217; 52; multifida134, I36; triandra134, 135, 136; vestiaria no 217; rumphiana134, 135, 136 I09,127,136 Catoblastusl48 Arecastrum x Butia 220 Ceroxylon 149 Arenga 224; caudata 225; engleri 218, 222; porphyrocarpa Chambeyroniamacrocarpa 113, 130, 136,174, I79 52, 136,224 Chamaedorea109, 114, I16, 148, I70, I72,173, l?8, Asterogyne martiana ?4, 78, 146, I47 218; cataractarumllI; costaricana178; elegans51, Astrocaryum94, 148, I72; huicungo160 I 27; ernesti-augustii2 I 9; exorrhiza 7 4, 7 6, 7 7, 7 B, 7 9; xAttabignya minarum I00 geonomiformisI27 , 136; hooperianaI36; metallica 127, Attalea 94, 148; compta 100; crassispatha95; monosperma 2I8, 2I9; pochutlensis178; quetzalteca178; radicalis 2I2; sagotii212; spectabilis2I2, 2I5 2 18; sartorii I27 , 136; seifrizii 5 l, 57 , I27 , 1361,tepe- Ayora, N. N., and R. Orellana ilote 74, l27i woodsoniana178 Physiochemicalsoil factors influencing the distribution of Chamaeropsl l 3; humilis55, 1 15, l2f , 123, l5I, I52, 153, tvo coastal palms in Yucatan, Mexico 82 154,155, 156, 157, 180,222 Ayora, N. N., as coauthor 26 Chapternews 49, II2, l7I,219 Bactris 74, 148; hondurensis74 Chavez, F,, as coauthor 184 Balick, M. J., as coauthor 94 Chrysalidocarpuscabadae 127, 136; decipiens I?6; fibrosus Beentje, H. l, l0; lucubensis5 1; lutescens5 1; madagascariensis51, The days I didn't find lakatra 4 136 A new aquatic palm from Madagascar 197 Classified18, 41, 91, lf9, 158, 215 Biennial105, f08, 138, 186 Clinostigma1 35; harlandii 204; samoense56, 1,27, 129, I33, Bismarckianobilis 51, 136,226 134, 135, 136, r74 Board meetings 104 Coccothrinaxlll; argenteaI13; crinita 109, 2l?; readii 3, Bookstore11, 59, 106, 150, 160, 196 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 63,82, 83, 84, 85, Borassus15, 167; flabellifer123, 165, 166, 167 86, 87, 88. 89. 90