Samia wangi Naumann & Peigler, 2001

Wu, Yujie, Peigler, Richard S. & Liu, Zhengyang, 2025, Ecological observations on the genus Samia Hübner, 1819 (Lepidoptera, Saturniidae) of China, especially the natural hostplants, Nota Lepidopterologica 48, pp. 251-268 : 251-268

2. Samia wangi Naumann & Peigler, 2001

Fig. 1 C, D

Material examined.

JIANGSU: ( OD): Six ova, side by side and single layer, attached on the leaf underside, and five L 3 larvae clustered or alone on the leaf undersides; Picrasma quassioides ( Simaroubaceae ); Zijinshan, Nanjing, ca. 100–200 m; 29 August 2021. HENAN: ( OD): Dozens of mature larvae; A. altissima ; Shuixianqiao Village, Shihe District, Xinyang, ca. 150 m; 16 September 2023. SHANGHAI: ( AD): An empty cocoon; Magnolia denudata ( Magnoliaceae ), the tree was far away from other vegetation; Pujiang Country Park, Minhang District, 6 m; 24 October 2021. ( AD): A cocoon; Triadica sebifera ( Euphorbiaceae ); Qingxi County Park, Qingpu District, 5 m; 13 October 2021. ( AD): Four cocoons (Fig. 3 P ); C. officinarum ; Sheshan Station, Songjiang District, ca. 5 m. 06 February 2024. ZHEJIANG: ( AD): A cluster of six L 3 larvae (Fig. 3 E ) and one mature larva (Fig. 3 K ); Hovenia acerba ( Rhamnaceae ) and Sabia japonica ( Sabiaceae ); Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve, Lin’an District, Hangzhou, 400–420 m; 20–22 June 2021. ( OD): A mature larva; Euscaphis japonica ( Staphyleaceae ); Tianmushan National Nature Reserve, Lin’an District, Hangzhou, ca. 900 m; 09 October 2022. ( AD): Seven ova side by side in a single layer, attached on the underside of a leaf, and also four solitary L 3 larvae; Litsea sp. ( Lauraceae ); Siwuling, Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, 304–390 m; 12–14 August 2022. ( AD): Two ovum clusters, one contained five ova laid in a double layer (Fig. 3 A ), and the other contained four ova in a single layer, both attached on the leaf undersides; Styrax spp. ( Styracaceae ); Wuyue Ancient Path, Lin’an District, Hangzhou, 819 m; 23 August 2023. ( AD): Twenty-five L 3– 5 larvae; Tetradium glabrifolium ( Rutaceae ), T. sebifera and T. ruticarpum ; Tianmushan National Nature Reserve and Liren Village of Damingshan, Lin’an District, Hangzhou, 323–350 m; 18–24 August 2022. TAIWAN: ( OD): About 2–5 L 4 larvae; Ilex asprella ( Aquifoliaceae ); Erziping, Yangmingshan National Park, Xinbei, ca. 850 m; May 2020. ( OD): Mature larvae, unknown number; Lagerstroemia subcostata ( Lythraceae ); Dongshi Forest Farm, Dongshi District, Taizhong, ca. 450 m; May 2021. ( OD): L 4 larvae, unknown number; Machilus zuihoensis ( Lauraceae ); Jiantai Forest Road, Ren’ai Township, Nantou County, ca. 1100 m; September 2023. ( OD): L 3 and L 5 larvae, unknown number; Melicope semecarpifolia ( Rutaceae ), T. glabrifolium ; Shoukatiema Station, Hengchun Town, Pingdong County, ca. 450 m and Dahanshan Forest Road, Chunri Township, Pingdong County, ca. 400 m; May 2022, October 2023. FUJIAN: ( OD): A mature larva; T. sebifera ; Tianzhushan, Xiamen, ca. 250 m; early June, 2014. HUNAN: ( OD): Three mature larvae; C. officinarum ; Yuelushan, Changsha, ca. 129 m; May 2021. JIANGXI: ( OI): One L 4 larva; Paulownia sp. ; Wufengshan, Pingxiang, ca. 200 m; mid-November 2022. CHONGQING: ( OD): Six ova side by side and single layer, attached on the underside of a leaf; Litsea sp. ; Jiaoniwan, Chengjiang Town, Beibei District, 472 m; 14 April 2024. SICHUAN: ( OD): Mature larvae, unknown number; Zanthoxylum ailanthoides , Z. armatum , Z. bungeanum ; Dafengding, Mabian County, Leshan, ca. 1500 m, and San’e Village, Shawan District, Leshan, ca. 850 m; June – August and October, 2022–2023. ( OD): Mature larvae, unknown number; A. altissima ; Baoguo Temple, Mount Emei, Leshan, 521 m; 01 May 2019. ( OD): Mature larvae, unknown number; C. officinarum ; Lüxin Park, Shizhong District, Leshan, ca. 300 m; November 2021. GUANGDONG: ( OD): About three solitary L 4 larvae; Litsea sp. ; Xiaxi Village, Conghua District, Guangzhou, ca. 400 m; 05 October and 2022. ( OD): Three solitary mature larva; Zanthoxylum sp. ; Nanling National Nature Reserve, Shaoguan, ca. 1300 m; 23 June 2021. HAINAN: ( OD): Five L 4 larvae; Zanthoxylum avicennae ; Xiuying District, Haikou, 105.2 m; 13 November 2022. ( OD): Four cocoons; Z. avicennae ; Nada Town, Danzhou, 144 m; 12 April 2024.

Notes.

S. wangi is sister to S. cynthia (e. g., Huang et al. 2022) and a completely forest-dwelling species flying in southern China, with a more mountainous distribution and there are populations on both mainland and islands (e. g., Peigler and Liu 2021). Although sometimes difficult to distinguish through wing pattern only, imaginal stage of S. wangi tends to be more brownish than S. cynthia , and the former usually has narrower crescentic windows on both fore- and hindwings than the latter ( Peigler and Naumann 2003: 102). Based on current observations, this species oviposits on the underside of leaves, with eggs arranged in single or double layers and typically fewer than ten eggs per cluster, this number is consistent with the oviposition behaviour reported by Saito (1993) for the closely related Japanese species, Samia pryeri (Butler, 1878) . The polyphagous S. wangi has a total of five larval instars, gregarious when young, but mature individuals are solitary. Unfortunately, there is currently no larval diagnosis that can be used to differentiate between S. wangi and S. cynthia . In nature, this silkmoth typically exhibits two or more generations annually, and if overwintering (mostly in subtropical zones) it is always as pupal stage. Some life history studies have clarified its voltinism: there are 2–3 generations in Anhui (e. g., Liu et al. 2000; Wan 2011), 3 generations in central (e. g., Chen et al. 2001) (possibly S. cynthia ?) or southern Henan (e. g., Ding and Jiang 1991; Su 1994), 2 generations in southern Shaanxi (e. g., Zhang 1996; Wang and Pan 2001), 2 generations in Hubei (e. g., Su 2014), 2 generations in Shanghai (e. g., Sun et al. 2003), 2–3 generations in Zhejiang (e. g., Lian and Fang 1980; Pan 1986; Yu et al. 1987), 2–3 generations in Jiangxi (e. g., Wang 1957; Wu et al. 1992; Wang and Yi 2016), 3 generations in Hunan (e. g., Lei and Lin 2012), 2 generations in Fujian (e. g., Li et al. 1991), and 3 generations in Taiwan (e. g., Wang 1994: 81). Although in our artificial environment there were a few individuals that constructed their cocoons away from their foodplants, the feral peduncled cocoons have been widely collected on mostly camphor trees [ Camphora spp. ]. Outwith our records, S. wangi has been considered a natural pest of many other cultivated trees in southern China, including the genera Ziziphus , Platanus ( Platanaceae ), Rhus ( Anacardiaceae ), Liriodendron ( Magnoliaceae ), Michelia ( Magnoliaceae ), Citrus ( Rutaceae ), Sloanea ( Elaeocarpaceae ), Elaeocarpus ( Elaeocarpaceae ), Liquidambar ( Altingiaceae ), Pterocarya ( Juglandaceae ) and Camptotheca ( Nyssaceae ) (e. g., Lian and Fang 1980; Ding and Jiang 1991; Li et al. 2011; Lei and Lin 2012; Fan et al. 2016). Working in Lianjiang County, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, Chen (1934) recorded the native farmers collecting these brown cocoons from Chinese tallow [ Triadica sebifera ] for spun silk. In recent years, pupae of S. wangi and S. cynthia have been sold online in China as food for pet birds, sourced from wild cocoons collected in Zhejiang and Shandong, respectively.

Figures

Figure 1. Adults of Samia spp. from China, dorsal views. A. S. cynthia ♂, Heshan, Donggang District, Rizhao, Shandong, ca. 334 m, 24 March 2024; B. S. cynthia ♀, Beijing Botanical Garden, Haidian District, Beijing, ca. 316 m, March 2024; C. S. wangi ♂, Longjiang Township, Yongfu County, Guilin, Guangxi, ca. 214 m, 20 March 2024; D. S. wangi ♀, Linfengshan, Fuyang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, ca. 370 m, 22 April 2024; E. S. kohlli ♂, Tuanjie Township, Xishan District, Kunming, Yunnan, ca. 2200 m, September 2023; F. S. kohlli ♀, Gejiu, Honghe Hani Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, ca. 1780 m, 26 July 2023. Scale bar: 3 cm.

Figure 3. Preimaginal materials of Samia spp. of China. A – I, K – M, P. Individuals photographed in the wild. N, O, Q. Captive individuals. A. Ova of S. wangi on leaf underside of Styrax sp., Hangzhou; B. Ovum shells of S. kohlli on leaf underside of Z. armatum, Kunming; C. Ovum shells of S. watsoni on leaf upperside of P. corymbosus, Hangzhou; D. Ovum shells of S. watsoni on leaf upperside of S. gemmata, Hangzhou; E. Larval cluster of S. wangi L 3, dorsal view, on leaf underside of H. acerba, Hangzhou; F. Larval cluster of S. kohlli L 2 (pre-ecdysis), dorsal view, on leaf underside of Z. armatum, Kunming; G. S. watsoni L 2, dorsal view, on leaf underside of P. corymbosus, Hangzhou; H. S. kohlli L 3, dorsal view, on the leaf underside of C. nepalensis, Kunming; I. S. watsoni L 4, dorsolateral view, on leaf underside of P. corymbosus, Hangzhou; J. S. cynthia L 5 (mature), dorsolateral view, on C. officinarum; K. S. wangi L 5 (mature), lateral view, on S. japonica, Hangzhou; L. S. kohlli L 5 (mature), lateral view, on C. nepalensis, Kunming; M. S. canningi L 5 (mature), lateral view, on Zanthoxylum sp., Xishuangbanna; N. S. ricini L 5 (mature), lateral view, on C. nepalensis; O. S. watsoni L 5 (mature), lateral view, on P. corymbosus; P. Cocoon of S. wangi, on C. officinarum, Shanghai; Q. Cocoon of S. watsoni, on P. corymbosus.