BUNAEOPSIS OF THE WORLD

Bunaeopsis licharbas male, Gabon, courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

BUNAEOPSIS BOUVIER, 1927

The Bunaeopsis belong to the Bunaeini tribe of Subfamily Saturniinae of the Family Saturniidae. These moths fly in Africa.

The larvae pupate underground. In many African countries the large larvae (short, thick spines) are harvested in bulk, sun dried, boiled or roasted, and then eaten directly or exported as a foodsource.

The forewing apex is rounded in most species and wings do not show a falcate form. The forewing eyespot is also well developed in most species.

Cooper and Cooper, 2002, recommend assigning of arabella, jacksoni and clementi to new genus Neobunaeopsis based on genitalia and wing colour/pattern. These three moths have extensive red in the basal areas, scalloped outer lines, black patches between the veins in the submarginal area, and larvae are crimson along the sides with a black dorsal surface. Spiracles are black.

Bunaeopsis licharbas fifth instar, Gabon, courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

P indicates an image is available.

Listing of Bunaeopsis

N afrorientalis (Stoneham, 1959) Incertae sedis; possibly a synonym of oubie
N angolana (Le Cerf, 1918) Incertae sedis, probably Angola
P annabellaeLemaire & Rougeot, 1975 Angola, Namibia
N ansorgei (Rothschild, 1898) Incertae sedis Kenya; probably a synonym of hersilia
P arabella (Aurivillius, 1893) South Africa: Transvaal, Natal.
P aurantiaca (Rothschild, 1895) Malawi, Central African Republic, Tanzania, Zambia, Congo, D R Congo
P aurantiaca gabonica Rougeot, 1955 Gabon; probably = aurantiaca (BCAS)
N bomfordi Pinhey, 1962 Zimbabwe
P chromata Darge, 2003 central eastern Tanzania
N clementi Lemaire & Rougeot, 1975 Cameroon
P dido (Maassen & Weymer, 1881) Burkina Faso Incertae sedis
P editha (Wichgraf, 1914) Incertae sedis southwest Tanzania
P elisa (Wichgraf, 1914) Burkina Faso Incertae sedis
N ferruginea (Bouvier, 1927) Burkina Faso Incertae sedis
P fenestricula (Strand, 1911) Burkina Faso Incertae sedis
P fervida Darge, 2003 southwestern Tanzania
P francottei Darge, 1992 Congo
N francottei balanitis Darge, 1993 Africa
P hersilia (Westwood, 1849) Zimbabwe, D R Congo
P hersilia pagei Rougeot, 1962 Cameroon Incertae sedis
N hersilioides (De Fleury, 1924) Senegal, Cameroon, (Burkina Faso, BOLD) Incertae sedis
N istariensis (Stoneham, 1959) Burkina Faso Incertae sedis
P jacksoni (Jordan, 1908) Malawi, Zambia, Cameroon, D R Congo, Angola, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya; ? Mozambique, ? Uganda
observalis Darge, 1993, is synonym of jacksoni (BCAS)
rosea (Bouvier, 1927), is synonym of jacksoni (BCAS)
carabella (Strand, 1911), is synonym of jacksoni (BCAS)
P licharbas (Maassen & Weyding, 1885) Cameroon, Tanzania, Gabon, Uganda, Zambia, D R Congo, Kenya, and tropical west Africa; probably Congo.
P lueboensis Bouvier, 1930 Congo; D R Congo
N lutea (Bouvier, 1927) Incertae sedis
N maasseni (Strand, 1911),
maasseni (Strand, 1911), ??is synonym of phidias (BCAS)??
P macrophthalma (Kirby, 1881) Burkina Faso, Africa Incertae sedis
N murphyi Bouyer, 2007 Malawi
N neoparilis Darge, 1993 Incertae sedis
P nigericola (Strand, 1916) Burkina Faso (Ivory Coast BOLD) Incertae sedis
N oenopa (Grunberg, 1910) Incertae sedis
P oubie Guerin-Meneville, 1849 Ethiopia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Kenya; ?? Mozambique, Tanzania
rothschildi (Le Cerf, 1911), is synonym of oubie (BCAS)
neuvillei (Le Cerf, 1911), is synonym of oubie (BCAS)
aethiopica (Le Cerf, 1911), is synonym of oubie (BCAS)
argillosa (Le Cerf, 1911), is synonym of oubie (BCAS); Ethiopia
callista (Le Cerf, 1922), is synonym of oubie (BCAS)
P pagei Rougeot, 1962 Incertae sedis
P phidias (Weymer, 1909) Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Eritrea ??
P princeps (Le Cerf, 1918) Angola, Namibia, Zambia
callichroma (Le Cerf, 1918), is synonym of princeps (BCAS)
P princeps aurata Rougeot, 1972 Congo; D R Congo
P rendalli (Rothschild, 1897) Tanzania, Chazi; Africa Incertae sedis
N rendalliana Gaede, 1927 Incertae sedis
P rothschildi (Le Cerf, 1911) Africa rothschildi = oubie according to Bouyer
P saffronica Pinhey, 1972 Zambia
N scheveniana Lemaire & Rougeot, 1974 Tanzania
N schonheiti Wichgr. 1914 Incertae sedis
N tanganikae Schussler, 1933 Incertae sedis
N terraliDarge, 1993 Africa
P thyene (Weymer, 1896) Incertae sedis, Cameroon to Zambia??
N vau (Fawcett, 1915) Kenya Incertae sedis
P zaddachi (Dewitz, 1879) Tanzania, Malawi, D R Congo, Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia

Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.