''Eutachyptera'' is a
monotypic moth genus in the family
Lasiocampidae. The genus was erected by William Barnes and
James Halliday McDunnough in 1912. Its single species, ''Eutachyptera psidii'', was first described by Sallé in 1857. It is found in
Mexico.
Behaviour
The caterpillars feed on the leaves of
guava
Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...
(''Psidium'' sp.) and
oak. They live
communally in large silken nests, which can extend to or more in length.
They remain in the nests by day and leave at night to feed, laying a trail of pheromones to help them and their nest-mates navigate to and from feeding areas.
Unusually among caterpillars, ''E. psidii'' larvae can remain active for as long as 18 days with no food, which they may have to do when their host trees lose their leaves in winter.
Use of larvae and silk
The larvae are among the caterpillars traded and eaten in Mexico.
The silk nests were used by the
Aztecs
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
,
Mixtecs
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture w ...
and
Zapotecs to make a paper-like fabric, which was a commercial item at the time of
Moctezuma.
Later, the Mixtec and other communities in
Oaxaca extracted the silk fibres from the nests and wove them into sashes. This practise had ceased by 1997.
Synonyms
The US
National Center for Biotechnology Information lists the following synonyms for ''E. psidii'':
* ''Bombyx psidii''
* ''Gloveria psidii''
* ''Lasiocampa psidii''
* ''Metanastria psidii''
* ''Tachyptera psidii''
External links
Lasiocampidae
Taxa named by William Barnes (entomologist)
Taxa named by James Halliday McDunnough
Eutachyptera psidii
{{Lasiocampidae-stub