Bunaeopsis annabellae
bewe-nay-OPS-ihsmmann-uh-BELL-ay
Lemaire and Rougeot, 1975

Bunaeopsis annabellae composited and transformed by Bill Oehlke

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.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: Bunaeopsis, Bouvier, 1927

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

DISTRIBUTION:

Bunaeopsis annabellae, the Annabelle's Emperor Moth (wingspan: 120 mm) is found only in
southwestern Angola: Cuanza Sul (JK) and
northeastern Namibia in the Caprivi region.

Robert Minetti reports it in
Zambia.

It seems to be a rather rare species, with an orangey-brown ground colour and sparse to generous sprinkling of black spots. The dark hindwing median band is wide and diffuse. Hyaline spots on all wings are relatively large.

Bunaeopsis annabellae male, Cuanza Sul, Angola,
March, 1999, courtesy of John Kamps.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There is only one generation of Bunaeopsis annabellae per year with moths on the wing from January through March (JK). Larvae are believed to favour broad-leafed grasses and reeds, and for this reason might also be found in northwestern Namibia.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males are active at night and come in to lights. Females have not been collected, but it is expected they scent at night and have a very strong ovipositing urge.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

The life history is unknown but larvae are expected to feed upon broad-leafed grasses and reeds as do Bunaeopsis bomfordi.

Mature larvae excavate subterranean chambers in which the larvae pupate.

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.

Dolichos.....

Dolichos

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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.

The genus name Bunaeopsis, indicates a similarity ('opsis' = looks like) to the Bunaea genus. That name is from the Greek and refers to a lobed hill-dweller.

The species name annabellae indicates the moth has been named to honour a woman named Annabell or Annabella.