Imbrasia epimethea
In Uganda
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Imbrasia
Species:
I. epimethea
Binomial name
Imbrasia epimethea
(Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena epimethea Drury, 1773
  • Imbrasia crameri Kirby, 1892
  • Imbrasia diomede Karsch, 1893
  • Bunaea dorcas Walker, 1855
  • Eacles epimedea Herrich-Schäffer, 1855
  • Imbrasia nadari Bouvier, 1928
  • Bombyx nictitans Fabricius, 1775
  • Imbrasia paradoxa Dufrane, 1953

Imbrasia epimethea is a species of moth belonging to the family Saturniidae. It was first described by Dru Drury in 1773 from the Calabar coast.

Description

Upper side: antennae strongly pectinated; the extremities appearing like threads. Thorax light brown, tinged with red. Abdomen grey brown. Anterior wings light grey brown, tinged with red at the base; having a narrow dark-coloured bar verged with grey running from the anterior to the posterior edges, parallel and at a little distance from the external margin. Posterior wings grey brown, terminating behind in points like acute angles; a dark narrow bar, edged with white, crosses these wings from the upper corners to the abdominal edges, dividing them into two compartments; in the uppermost of which are placed two eyes, whose centres are yellow, surrounded with black irides edged with red, and which also are encircled with ash-coloured rings. Above these eyes the wings are dark-coloured, almost black; but next the body are of a reddish hue.

Under side: legs black. Thorax and abdomen same colour as on the upper side. Wings nearly the same colour as on the upper side; the bars being plain and distinct, but the eyes are not observable here.

Drury's text does not state the wingspan, but his figure shows it as 5 inches (127mm).[1]

Distribution

It is found in Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (Bas Congo, Katanga, Orientale), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.[2]

Biology

The larvae are highly gregarious[3] and feed on Theobroma cacao, Petersianthus africanus, Petersianthus macrocarpus, Holarrhena floribunda, Funtumia species (including Funtumia africana and Funtumia elastica), Ricinodendron heudelotii, Acacia lahai, Terminalia, Bauhinia and Anona senegalensis.

Subspecies

  • Imbrasia epimethea epimethea
  • Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis Darge, 1988

References

  1. ↑ Drury, Dru (1837). Westwood, John (ed.). Illustrations of Exotic Entomology. Vol. 2. p. 24. pl. XIII.
  2. ↑ "AfroMoths". www.afromoths.net. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  3. ↑ Latham, Paul (2003). Edible caterpillars and their food plants in Bas-Congo (First ed.). Mystole. pp. 20, 21. ISBN 0954301277.


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