DISTRIBUTION:

Athletes albicans (wingspan: males: approx. 182-196mm; females: 180mm) flies in
Cameroon: Mbalmayo, Centre; Yokadouma, Est; and
Gabon: Franceville, Haut-Ogooue; Alembe, Moyen-Ogooue.

It also has been reported in Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kinshasa (PD) and Guinee and Angola by Rougeot. I suspect it also flies in the People's Republic of the Congo.

BOLD systems reports it from as far west as Ivory Coast, so it is probably also present in Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, but I have no confirmed reports.

Athletes albicans male, Monts de Cristal, Estuaire, Gabon,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke, might be Athletes ethra ogouensis.

The forewing apex is pointed. In the specimens I have seen, the dark hindwing pm band is wavy near the apex and inner margin, the tails are relatively large and the outer margins are evenly scalloped. The dark grey colouration of the outer margin does not extend to the tips of the tails as in Athletes gigas.

Athletes albicans, male, Alembe, Province Moyen-Ogooue, Gabon,
20th to 24th January 2003, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner.

Athletes albicans, male, Franceville, Province Haut-Ogooue, Gabon,
November 23, 2006, wingspan 182mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert

Athletes albicans, male (verso), Franceville, Province Haut-Ogooue, Gabon,
November 23, 2006, wingspan 182mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert

FLIGHT TIMES AND LARVAL HOSTS:

This moth is on the wing in January in Gabon. There is evidently more than one flight. Philippe Darge reports a specimen taken in Franceville, Haut-Ogooue, Gabon, in November. Michelle Constanza, via Antoine Guyonnet reports a February 6, 2011, flight in Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroon. Hubert Mayer sends the following image of a specimen taken in August.

Athletes albicans male, Mbalmayo, Cameroon
August 19, 2000, courtesy of Hubert Mayer.

Athletes albicans larval hosts are unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Both sexes are active at night. Males come in to lights around midnight when females are scenting.

Athletes albicans female, courtesy of Teemu Klemetti.

Athletes albicans female, Obout, Centre Province, Cameroon,
180mm, courtesy of Johann Mueller, id and slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Athletes albicans is very similar in appearance to Athletes ethra ogouensis so I offer the following diagnostic image to help with identifications.

Albicans is a significantly larger moth and
1) The hyaline spot in the hindwing ocellus is small and circular. In ogouensis there is more of a v-shaped marking
2) The forewing subterminal/submarginal line forms a large inturn loop as it approaches the inner margin. In ogouensis the line runs almost straight to the inner margin.
3) The hindwing subterminal/submarginal line turns downward (accentuated by inturn loop described above) before reaching the inner margin. In ogouensis the line runs almost straight to the inner margin.
The features mentioned above are also carried in the males.

Athletes albicans female, Obout, Centre Province, Cameroon,
180mm, courtesy of Johann Mueller, id and slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Pupation is in the soil in a subterranean chamber.

Athletes albicans first instar on

Athletes albicans second instar on oak (Quercus robur), Obout Village, Central Cameroon,
courtesy of Andrew Spicer.

Athletes albicans third instar on oak (Quercus robur), Obout Village, Central Cameroon,
courtesy of Andrew Spicer.

Athletes albicans fourth instar on oak (Quercus robur), Obout Village, Central Cameroon,
courtesy of Andrew Spicer.

Athletes albicans fifth instar, Cameroon, via of Andrew Spicer.

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Return to Athletes Index

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion. It is based on commonly accepted English pronunciation of Greek names and/or some fairly well accepted "rules" for latinized scientific names.

The suggested pronunciations, on this page and on other pages, are primarily put forward to assist those who hear with internal ears as they read.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

Some of the early describers/namers chose genus and species names indicating some character of the insect, but more often, they simply chose names from Greek or Roman mythology or history.

Those species names which end in "ensis" indicate a specimen locale, and those which end in "i", pronounced "eye", honour a contempory friend/collector/etc.

According to Pinhey, 1972, "Athletes" means "contestant" and is from the Greek language.

The species name, "albicans" means 'whitish', and refers to the generous white scaling in the basal-median area of the forewings.