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Hello Everyone,
One of my friends found this specimen yesterday in Budapest, Hungary. At first, I thought it was a Saturnia pavonia/pavoniella, but some of its marking are really off, especially on the hindwings. Could it be an aberration or a natural hybrid between S. pyri and S. pavoniella/pavonia? Has anoyne seen something like this before?
Thanks,
Adam
Hello,
I could be wrong, but it doesn’t look like Caligula lindia. I think a hybrid could be possible. Either way, very cool find!
Regards,
Ethan
Stunning moth 
S.pyri x S.pavonia-(ella ) or oposite looks diffrent to this.
What is the size about ?
regards
André
its Ricana lindia
Thank you for your answers! It is quite small, here is an image for size comparison.
Calígula lindia
Oh wow. I hope no one is releasing them in the wild.
I hope this was just an accident and not actually someone trying to release these in the wild! Even the most insignificant animal released in the wild could have a big impact in the ecosystem!
Hi,
please look in the http://www.lepiforum.org and compare with Saturnia spini ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)
and have fun!
Regards.
Hans
Hello Hans,
that is definitely not Saturnia spini in the pictures of Adam!
I think it should be clear meanwhile that it is a specimen of Caligula lindia.
The question now is where it came from, release from breeding or whatever...
Regards - Thomas
Me? Thankfully not. In this case it could most likely be an accident instead of deliberate.
I do remember years ago, a customer wanting to buy H. cecropia eggs for the purpose of releasing the imagoes - I declined the sale.
But that is only one incident in over 10 years in this community. So I think most breeders understand the responsibility!
It's no coincidence Ricana lindia is a new species in the hobby though. It must have escaped from a breeder. I don't think this is a species that comes in contact with exported goods or food crops in the area where it's native.
This can be the case with Saturniidae; in Europe there were Copaxa lavendera showing up(!), that like to spin cocoons in exported Tillandsia "moss" (it's actually a bromeliad) that are often used for flower arrangements ! So the cocoons were exported with the product, and moths were emerging in garden centres and flower shops.
Source: https://www.vlinderstichting.n…nse-gast-copaxa-lavendera
I've also seen Pergesa acteus [Sphingidae] larvae exported with Colocasia plants(!).
Anyways, in this case I suspect it must be a captive individual from a hobbyist. It's arrival coincides with the first time in a long time the species is widespread in the hobby.
For this species, the female is very small in size - which suggests she grew up in suboptimal conditions. This could also indicate it developed on non native host plant, or as livestock
Interesting - I had sent 40 pupae of C. lindia (country of origin Pakistan) to a breeder in Hungary at the end of 2020. A few months later I received a positive feedback, he would like to continue the breeding because the sent pupae came from 2 different pairs.
I also exclude that some imagines were intentionally released into the wild. Breeding material of C. lindia was difficult to obtain in the past.
So interesting! Yeah, I am always careful to make sure no natives escape. In order to have a USDA permit I have to make sure nothing gets loose. What do you think would be the reason someone would want to release these? I know everywhere is different in terms of punishment, so I am not sure what it is like in Hungary.
So interesting! Yeah, I am always careful to make sure no natives escape. In order to have a USDA permit I have to make sure nothing gets loose. What do you think would be the reason someone would want to release these? I know everywhere is different in terms of punishment, so I am not sure what it is like in Hungary.
Well that's hard to say, I can't guess other people's motives!
It could just be an incident though.
Over 40 years ago I had a beautiful breeding of Attacus edwardsii. One of the butterflies escaped and was found a day later about 1 km away of my flat at the time. Even the local newspaper reported about this discovery.
Of course this accident was totally unintended. Sometimes such things just happen.
This is quite interesting and scary. I recently had one of my male elephant hawkmoth escape in the Azores
I'm sure this is a joke. It wouldn't surprise me if people deliberately release Saturnia lindia in the wild, but Saturnia lindia pupae were brought on the market by Serge Yevdoshenko only very recently, in 2020. The first adults would have emerged in 2021. It is very unlikely that some random person in Hungary walks into an adult the next spring, recognizes that it is something special, takes very nice pictures and sends them to someone who posts them on actias.de(!). It should also be taken into account that Saturnia lindia won't emerge in early April in an Eastern European climate.
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