DISTRIBUTION:

Bunaeopsis licharbas (forewing length: 60-65mm) flies in
Cameroon and Gabon. Julius Busingye reports it from Uganda. Teemu Klemetti reports it from Tanzania. Pinhey also includes Zambia: Mazabuka (RSL), Kenya: Kakamega Forest; and tropical west Africa. The Natural History Museum reports it from Togo. Eric Vingerhoedt has sent an image from Northern Nigeria, near Kano.

Thierry Bouyer adds Democratic Republic of the Congo to the list, but he excludes Tanzania and Kenya.

It most assuredly also flies in People's Republic of the Congo: possibly Bambari, Ouaka (NV).

Bunaeopsis licharbas?? male, Bambari, Ouaka, Republic of Central Africa,
June 2005, courtesy of Nigel Voaden,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

The specimen directly above has the pinkish-white suffusions in the median area, a character which I have only seen mentioned for B. licharbas. The outer white ring around the forewing ocellus is almost vestigial, another trait of licharbas. The images I have below for Bunaeopsis licharbas thyene from Zambia are a very good match for the image above, sans the median pinkish-white suffusions. It seems to be something intermediate between nominate licharbas and licharbas thyene.

Bunaeopsis licharbas?? male, Bambari, Ouaka, Republic of Central Africa,
June 2005, courtesy of Nigel Voaden,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

The wings are a uniform ochrous-brown, pretty much devoid of black scaling (speckling), but with a generous dusting of pinkish scales in the median area. The inner line of the forewing is distinctive.

The following images from the Cornell University collection were identified as Bunaeopsis licharbas thyene. I do not know if that moth has been synonymized with licharbas, remains a subspecies of licharbas or has been elevated to full species status. The male and female from Zambia seem to lack the pinkish suffusions in the median area, and the forewing ocelli seem different from the other specimens listed as licharbas on this page.

Bunaeopsis licharbas thyene male, Mazabuka, Zambia,
Cornell University Collection, courtesy of Ryan Saint Laurent,
slight digital repair and tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Bunaeopsis licharbas thyene female, Mazabuka, Zambia,
Cornell University Collection, courtesy of Ryan Saint Laurent,
digital repair and tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Bunaeopsis licharbas larvae feed on leguminous plants in the wild and on oak and willow in captivity. They are also reported on Hyparrhenia contracta and Vicia sp.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Bunaeopsis licharbas males are active at night and come in to lights.

Bunaeopsis licharbas female, Gabon, courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Bunaeopsis licharbas larvae feed on leguminous plants in the wild and on oak and willow in captivity. Shiny, grey-white, often slightly irregular eggs, resembling plump tomatoes, are deposited in clusters on host foliage. Image courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

Bunaeopsis licharbas first instar, Gabon, courtesy of Rodlphe Rougerie.

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

Listed below are the primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

leguminous plants....... Quercus Salix capraea

leguminous plants Oak Sallow/Goat Willow

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Bunaeopsis licharbas male, Elliott Pinhey, on my home computer only.

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 licharbas means "with a steep angle" and refers to the angulation of the inner forewing line.