identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
D2C750DCDF915316A1BBF44553601FCF.text	D2C750DCDF915316A1BBF44553601FCF.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Samia canningi (Hutton 1859)	<div><p>5. Samia canningi (Hutton, 1859)</p><p>Fig. 2 C, D</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>YUNNAN: (OD): About 10 mature larvae; Zanthoxylum sp.; south Ninger County of Pu’er, ca. 1400 m; 27 June 2007. (OI): About fourteen mature larvae; unidentified species of Euphorbiaceae; Xishuangbanna; 06 November 2023. (OD): A mature larva (Fig. 3 M); Zanthoxylum sp.; Wild Elephant Valley, Xishuangbanna, ca. 800 m, 18 December 2023.</p><p>Notes.</p><p>Known as the wild eri silkworm / silkmoth, and recently confirmed as the wild progenitor of S. ricini through morphological (Peigler and Naumann 2003: 123), breeding (e. g., Brahma et al. 2015), and genomic (e. g., Huang et al. 2022) evidences. Both taxa are polyphagous. Even though biologically these are the same species and the name S. canningi is junior to S. ricini (Peigler &amp; Calhoun, 2013), Peigler and Luikham (2013) proposed that the name canningi should be preserved and added to the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology, for continuing to be used when referring to the wild eri form; this request was finally approved by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 2016). S. canningi is mostly a Himalayan flyer but its Chinese core population appears on the southwest border including both southwestern Yunnan and southeastern Tibet (Peigler and Naumann 2003: 119), and Wu (2017: 134) has figured feral mature larvae from China. Adults of S. canningi have a richer golden hue compared to other Samia spp. and are visually high-saturated in colours. There are five larval instars under normal state and the mature larvae are green or yellow-greenish grounded, with relatively larger black patches than S. cynthia, S. wangi and S. kohlli . The precise voltinism in Chinese habitats remains undocumented; however, the occurrence of mature larvae observed in Yunnan during both summer and winter, supplemented by specimens from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan and Mêdog, Tibet reared by us in 2025, suggests the likelihood of at least two generations per year. Like most Samia, this species usually spins peduncled bright to grayish brown cocoons on hostplants. There are currently no reports on the use of this species for sericulture in China.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D2C750DCDF915316A1BBF44553601FCF	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Wu, Yujie;Peigler, Richard S.;Liu, Zhengyang	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: 251-268, DOI: 10.3897/nl.48.150262
3A4908C65E41574189BDE8AF9B6D8961.text	3A4908C65E41574189BDE8AF9B6D8961.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Samia cynthia (Drury 1773)	<div><p>1. Samia cynthia (Drury, 1773)</p><p>Fig. 1 A, B</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>LIAONING: (AD): Seven empty cocoons; Zanthoxylum bungeanum ( Rutaceae); the coast of Ganjingzi District, Dalian, ca. 23 m; 03 June 2017. (AD): A mature larva; Zanthoxylum sp.; Fenghuangshan, Fengcheng, Dandong, 200 m; 14 September 2019. (OD): About thirty mature larvae; mostly feeding on Ailanthus altissima ( Simaroubaceae) and some on Z. bungeanum; urban area of Lianshan District, Huludao, Liaoning, 29 m; 22 August 2020. BEIJING: (OD): Mature larvae and cocoons, unknown number; A. altissima, Z. bungeanum and Phellodendron amurense ( Rutaceae); suburban Haidian and Changping Districts; August 2019 –2023. (AD): A cluster of L 2 larvae; A. altissima, ca. 3 m tall; Badaling National Forest Park, Yanqing District, 577 m; 23 June 2019. SHANDONG: (AD): A total of thirty mature larvae, about 1–12 individuals on each plant; cultivated Z. bungeanum in plantations, 3 - meter-tall trees; Sibaoshan of Zichuan District and Hudieyu of Boshan District, Zibo, ca. 30–130 m; late August to early September, 2006 and 2009. (OD): A mature larva; Tetradium daniellii ( Rutaceae); Fohuishan, Jinan, 290 m; 23 August 2010. (AI): About 500 g of empty cocoons; Z. bungeanum and A. altissima; the coast of Longkou, Penglai of Yantai, ca. 49 m; March 2024. JIANGSU: (AI): Twenty wild cocoons; Camphora officinarum ( Lauraceae); Guanyun County of Lianyungang, Jiangsu, ca. 4 m; 19 December 2021.</p><p>Notes.</p><p>As the type-species of the genus, polyphagous S. cynthia has long been known as the ailanthus silkworm / silkmoth due to one of its main hostplants in nature. Besides being another main feeder on Z. bungeanum, this species has also been recorded as a significant pest of Ziziphus jujuba ( Rhamnaceae), Paulownia elongata ( Paulowniaceae), Punica granatum ( Lythraceae) and Lagerstroemia indica ( Lythraceae) in the wild in Hebei (e. g., Zhang et al. 1994; Li et al. 2001; Dai 2005). S. cynthia is commonly reported from most provinces in northern China but remains unknown in the semiarid regions of the Loess Plateau and the Mongolian Plateau. Furthermore, although specimens have been recorded from Shanghai, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang (Peigler and Naumann 2003: 98–99), another species is more common in these southern areas (see section 2). The habitat of S. cynthia ranges from plains to hills, including near the coasts, and it flies both in cities and forests. The species is probably univoltine or bivoltine in most northern Chinese habitats. Adults emerge from May to September, according to field observations by Du et al. (2010) in Liaoning and Zhengyang Liu in Beijing. In Tianjin, Wen et al. (2001) reported that it is bivoltine, and many studies note that there are 2–3 generations naturally in Hebei (e. g., Luan 1994; Zhang et al. 1994; Zhang 1995; Zhang et al. 1996; Sun 1998; Li et al. 2001), as well as in the wild in Shandong (e. g., Nie et al. 2025). The wings usually have a dark olive-green tinge, and there are five larval instars. During L 1–4 the individuals are sometimes clustered, and the mature larvae are solitary (Fig. 3 J). S. cynthia overwinters as pupa, with the grayish or brownish cocoons which usually have peduncles and usually hang on the hostplants, but in captivity it can occasionally be seen spun away from the hostplant. This moth was once one of the main sericulture species in ancient China (e. g., Jiang et al. 1996; Peigler 2020), and the cocoons were collected and used to make hand-spun yarns, mainly in rural Shandong (e. g., Wallace 1866; Rondot 1887: 78; Fauvel 1895: 76). However, this industry almost disappeared after Chinese Economic Reform (ca. 1978) and commercial silk is no longer found on the market.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3A4908C65E41574189BDE8AF9B6D8961	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Wu, Yujie;Peigler, Richard S.;Liu, Zhengyang	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: 251-268, DOI: 10.3897/nl.48.150262
B2C7C0A08FAA5E47B1FE379654CFF4E5.text	B2C7C0A08FAA5E47B1FE379654CFF4E5.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Samia kohlli Naumann & Peigler 2001	<div><p>3. Samia kohlli Naumann &amp; Peigler, 2001</p><p>Fig. 1 E, F</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>YUNNAN: (AD): A cluster of seven ovum shells, pyramidal (three-layer, 4-2 - 1), attached on the leaf underside (Fig. 3 B), and a cluster of four L 1 larvae (Fig. 3 F), one solitary L 3 (Fig. 3 H) and two solitary mature larvae (Fig. 3 L); Z. armatum, Coriaria nepalensis ( Coriariaceae); Xishan Hills Park, Xishan District, Kunming, 2105 m; 06 and 24 September 2021. (AD): One empty cocoon; an unknown plant closed to C. officinarum; Xishan Hills Park, Xishan District, Kunming, 2102 m; 01 May 2021. (AD): Four L 3 larvae; C. nepalensis; Fengyuan Road, Panlong District, Kunming, 1964 m; 18 August 2023. (AD): One cocoon; C. officinarum; Songhuaba, Panlong District, 2262 m; 22 February 2025. (AD): A cluster of eleven L 1 larvae; Camphora septentrionalis; Songhuaba, Panlong District, 2239 m; 08 September 2025. (AD): Twelve L 5 larvae; Litsea rubescens; Songhuaba, Panlong District, 2187 m; 07 October 2025. (OD): Three L 4 larvae; H. acerba; Kunming Botanical Garden, Panlong District, Kunming, ca. 1990 m; 09 September 2020. (OD): A mature larva; Lagerstroemia tomentosa ( Lythraceae); Kunming Botanical Garden, Panlong District, Kunming, ca. 1990 m; 04 October 2020. (OD): A mature larva; found on the ground, its hostplant unknown; Gongdangshenshan, Bingzhongluo Town, Gongshan County, Nujiang, ca. 2000 m; 09 July 2023. (OD): Two L 4 larvae and six mature larvae; Z. armatum, Toddalia asiatica ( Rutaceae); Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Menglun Town, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna, ca. 600 m; 03 November 2016 and 27 November 2017.</p><p>Notes.</p><p>In China, this polyphagous species is distributed only in the southwestern provinces such as southeastern Tibet and most of Yunnan, also recorded from the western border of Guangxi (Peigler and Naumann 2003: 136). In a previous Chinese publication, Wu provided preimaginal images only (Wu 2017: 130). Generally, the adults of S. kohlli are the largest compared to the other species in the genus, and usually have a brighter colour tone than the other southern China flyer —— S. wangi; but some individuals show a darker taupe colour. Oviposition usually occurs on the underside of leaves and there are less than ten eggs per group. Although it is sometimes difficult to directly identify this species without dissecting adult moths or molecular sequencing, each of the dorsal scoli on the 9 th abdominal segment [A 9] in the final larval instar (L 5) shows a red tip., This feature clearly distinguishes it from related species in China (see also section 6). There are possibly one or two generations per year in the wild of western and central Yunnan, and possibly more in the southern tropics. In subtropical regions of Yunnan, this species overwinters as a pupa (it is unknown whether this occurs in tropical areas). The pupa is protected within a brownish, peduncled cocoon that is typically attached to the food plant, although some individuals may leave the host after feeding. Furthermore, there are no records of this species being bred or collected for the silk industry.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/B2C7C0A08FAA5E47B1FE379654CFF4E5	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Wu, Yujie;Peigler, Richard S.;Liu, Zhengyang	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: 251-268, DOI: 10.3897/nl.48.150262
4144E5522D7159CEA2A469A99E01D016.text	4144E5522D7159CEA2A469A99E01D016.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Samia ricini (Jones 1791)	<div><p>4. Samia ricini (Jones, 1791)</p><p>Fig. 2 A, B</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>No observation in the wild.</p><p>Notes.</p><p>The famous eri silkworm / silkmoth, an artificial hybrid with no populations in nature. In China, the main captive hosts are Ricinus communis ( Euphorbiaceae), Manihot esculenta ( Euphorbiaceae) and C. nepalensis (e. g., Wei et al. 1998). Adults usually have greyish wings with denser white hairs covering the abdomen. The larval stage has five-instars and, depending on the varieties, the mature caterpillar has a background colour from white (Fig. 3 N), to pale yellow, to blue, sometimes adorned with black patches. In southern China, the generation length is about two months, normally without diapause but overwintering in pupal form under laboratory condition (e. g., Cheng 1959). Cocoons of S. ricini are white or rufous (“ red eri ”), and always attached on hostplants without peduncle. Japanese sericulturists introduced this species to Taiwan Island from India for trial breeding (Koidsumi et al. 1941: 3) in 1919, and began to promote such industry in northeastern China (“ Manchuria ”), as well as in Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing and Wuhan since 1940 (Matsumura 1943: 38–57, 64–70), but these ventures were all ultimately unsuccessful (Lu 1947). Between 1945 and 1949, some sericultural farms in Jiangsu introduced this species from Taiwan for breeding (Wang 1995: 504), and after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, S. ricini was reintroduced to mainland from India by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1951 and commercial breeding commenced in 1954 (Zhu 1959). This species is still farmed principally in southern provinces such as Guangdong and Guangxi.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/4144E5522D7159CEA2A469A99E01D016	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Wu, Yujie;Peigler, Richard S.;Liu, Zhengyang	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: 251-268, DOI: 10.3897/nl.48.150262
A1CD8722CAB457118DA9235C73B0D399.text	A1CD8722CAB457118DA9235C73B0D399.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Samia wangi Naumann & Peigler 2001	<div><p>2. Samia wangi Naumann &amp; Peigler, 2001</p><p>Fig. 1 C, D</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>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.</p><p>Notes.</p><p>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.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A1CD8722CAB457118DA9235C73B0D399	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Wu, Yujie;Peigler, Richard S.;Liu, Zhengyang	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: 251-268, DOI: 10.3897/nl.48.150262
4C27D9C3977F52C28B552901A3C5DC90.text	4C27D9C3977F52C28B552901A3C5DC90.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Samia watsoni (Oberthur 1914)	<div><p>6. Samia watsoni (Oberthür, 1914)</p><p>Figs 2 E, F, 4</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>ZHEJIANG: (AD): Three ovum clusters and all laid in single layer, five unhatched, four unhatched and four hatched (Fig. 3 D), all attached on the leaf upperside; Stewartia gemmata ( Theaceae); Dashuwang, West Tianmushan, Lin’an District, Hangzhou, 902 m, 954 m and 963 m; 14 and 20 August 2023. (AD): Four ovum shells, side by side and single layer, attached on the leaf upperside (Fig. 3 C), and more than thirty solitary L 1– 4 larvae on the leaf undersides (Fig. 3 G, I); Pterostyrax corymbosus ( Styracaceae); Dashuwang, West Tianmushan, Lin’an District, Hangzhou, 878 m; 13 August 2023. (AD): More than fifteen solitary L 3– 5 larvae on the leaf undersides; P. corymbosus; Gaoqiaowu, West Tianmushan, Lin’an District, Hangzhou, 857 m; 16 August 2023. (AI): One ovum, attached on the leaf upperside; P. corymbosus; Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve, Lin’an District, Hangzhou, 623 m; 28 June 2021. (OD): Thirteen solitary mature larvae; P. corymbosus; Tianmushan National Nature Reserve, Lin’an District, Hangzhou, ca. 900 m; 09 October 2022.</p><p>Notes.</p><p>S. watsoni is regarded as the sister group to all other Samia (Peigler and Naumann 2003: 71; Peigler and Liu 2022; Lu et al. 2022). Its habitats cover montane broadleaf forests in subtropical China, with the type locality in Mount Emei of Sichuan, while the population in Taiwan has been subjectively considered as a sub- (Kishida 1982) or full species (Naumann et al. 2014). Peigler &amp; Naumann (2003: 170) diagnosed S. watsoni as: “ Readily separated from other species in the genus by the large size, burgundy or reddish-brown ground color, crescents containing a lot of the transparent component, orange patch on the forewing apex, and a second black eyespot on the outer tip of the forewing. ” All new observations suggest that females tend to lay eggs on the upper sides of leaves, as previously reported by Peigler and Liu (2022), in which the complete life history of S. watsoni was also described for the first time. In the same work, trials suggested that this species is possibly oligophagous on the family Styracaceae (based on the population from Zhejiang), but the authors assumed it utilizes other plants across its wider habitat; here we supplement a new host record from Theaceae . Since 2024, Zhengyang Liu has conducted multiple attempts in Kunming, Yunnan to rear S. watsoni originating from Guangxi using Styrax grandiflorus, P. corymbosus, and Sinojackia xylocarpa ( Styracaceae), yet all larvae failed to develop beyond L 2. In late April of 2025, many L 1 larvae from a wild-caught female from Fangchenggang, Guangxi, also died after feeding on P. corymbosus . However, the 15 dying individuals readily accepted Symplocos paniculata ( Symplocaceae) and progressed rapidly to the next instar. From this cohort, nine cocoons were obtained (other larvae succumbed to disease between L 3–4, unrelated to host plant suitability), and three male moths eventually emerged in early July (the remaining pupae desiccated due to arid rearing conditions). Notably, all of them exhibited melanic phenotypes (Fig. 4 A – E). In the absence of additional material for further study, we preliminarily hypothesize that this form may be diet-induced, given that their mother displayed the typical reddish-brown form. Nevertheless, further experimentations are needed. Additionally, we learned that all caterpillars of the Taiwanese population consistently failed to pass the first moult after feeding on various native Styracaceae genera (Jinxiu Liang, personal communication to Zhengyang Liu, 28 May and 14 June 2022). Although the red dorsal scoli during mature instar [L 5] of S. watsoni is reminiscent of S. kohlli (Fig. 3 O) (see also section 3), the former usually has thinner white waxy powder on epicuticle, and a plumper body with reduced subdorsal and lateral [L] scoli. In captivity, there were quite a few individuals observed leaving the host plant to spin dark brown cocoons, either peduncled strongly on trees or weakly between fallen leaves (Fig. 3 Q). We are not sure how many generations per year this species attains in the wild but based on captive and field observations there might be two or more seasonal flights, as suggested by Lemaire and Peigler (1982).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/4C27D9C3977F52C28B552901A3C5DC90	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Wu, Yujie;Peigler, Richard S.;Liu, Zhengyang	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: 251-268, DOI: 10.3897/nl.48.150262
