Natural history and morphology of immature stages of Tolype medialis (Jones, 1912) (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae: Macromphaliinae).

ABSTRACT

Lasiocampidae belongs to superfamily Lasiocampoidea and contains more than a thousand species nearly distributed worldwide. Despite the great species richness and wide distribution, this group has internal phylogenetic relationships still little explored and with few studies on the morphology and biology of its immatures. This study describes the immature stages of the neotropical species Tolype medialis (Jones, 1912), focusing on the morphology and natural history. The eggs of T. medialis are oviposited freely inside a conical structure, and the larvae showed gregarious behavior in all instars. The seventh and eighth instar bear a pair of abdominal rounded flattened reddish brown glands on the segments A1, A2, A7, and A8 that produce a wax-like secretion that covers the pupae and the internal walls of the cocoon. In order to add information to the Lasiocampidae family, we compare and discuss these and other traits from the morphology and natural history of T. medialis immatures.