Athletes gigas
ath-LEE-teezMJYE-gas
(Sonthonnax, 1899) Gynanisa

Athletes gigas male, Kolwezi, Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
courtesy/copyright of Angela Hertrampf.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelcom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Bunaeini, Packard, 1902 Genus: Athletes, Karsch, 1896

MIDI MUSIC Wind Beneath My Wings copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="wings.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION: The Large Frosted Emperor, Athletes gigas, (wingspan: males: approximately 150mm; females: approximately 150mm), flies in Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia: Copper Belt WO? the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Katanga: Kolwezi (AH), Malawi, and Republic of Central Africa. Athletes gigas moth on Rwanda stamp.

My own observation: Thorax of gigas seems to have a dark inverted "wishbone" shape or "Y-shape" often outlined in off-white, with a white to off-white bar below and perpendicular to the line of the body, followed by a dark bar, another white bar and then a more diffuse, thinner dark bar separating the speckled gray abdomen from the darker thorax.

The forewing apex of the male seems more produced than in many similar species and the white arcs along the outer margin are quite pronounced on all wings. The forewing basal area is usually quite white to light grey without a lower half dark patch, and the am line, slightly thinner near the costa than in its lower 2/3s, is usually outwardly accentuated by a brilliant white outline. These features are helpful when a view of the hindwing is not evident.

Athletes gigas male, Sakania, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
courtesy of Nigel Voaden, id by Bill Oehlke.

A. steindachneri Rebel, 1904 is the same as A. gigas. Rolf Oberprieler indicates this species was described in 1899 so gigas should be used instead of steindachneri.

Both can be distinguished from A. semialba by the hindwing eyespots. In gigas the central black pupil is surrounded by a narrow brown ring, a complete narrower black ring, a very wide brown ring and an incomplete and narrow pink ring.

In semialba the outer pinkish-white ring is wider and complete, often with a very strong inner presence of red. Semialba usually as a dark patch in the lower half of the forewing basal area.

Athletes gigas male, Zambia, Kasama Province Nord, December 2003,
wingspan 150mm, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner.

In the above image, the outer red ring is faded to brown and the narrow pink ring is faded to white.

Athletes gigas male (verso), Zambia, Kasama Province Nord, December 2003,
wingspan 150mm, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner.

FLIGHT TIMES AND LARVAL HOSTS:

Sebastian Brandner has sent images of specimens taken in Kasama Province Nord, Zambia, in December 2003. There may be additional flights. Jiri Zabokrtsky has sent an image from Malawi with the specimen taken in January.

Athletes gigas larvae feed on Brachystegia randii, Cercis siliquatrum and Julbernardia paniculata.

It is reported on Brachystegia taxifolia in DRC.

Athletes gigas courtesy of Frans Desmet,
Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

The pale brown outer ring of the hindwing is much wider in Athletes gigas than it is in A. semialba.

Athletes gigas female, courtesy of Teemu Klemetti.

Athletes gigas female, Sakania, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
February 3, 2014, courtesy of Nigel Voaden,
id and digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Athletes gigas female, Mzimba, Malawi, January 2004, courtesy of Jiri Zabokrtsky.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Pupation is in the soil in a subterranean chamber.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidaeand on various internet sites. 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.

Acacia xanthophloea Berlinia globiflora Brachystegia randii Brachystegia spiciformis Brachystegia taxifolia Cercis siliquatrum Julbernardia paniculata......

Acacia xanthophloea Mnondo Msasa Msasa Msasa Judas tree Mnondo

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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, "gigas" means 'giant', and refers to the large wingspan of this species.