DISTRIBUTION:

Cirina forda, The Pallid Emperor (wingspan: males: 85-105mm; females: 95-115mm), is widely distributed from the eastern Cape Province of South Africa through Natal, Transvaal and Zimbabwe into western ??, central ?? and eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria ??. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo it is known as Mikwati or Mingolo.

Philippe Darge indicates a presence in northern Congo Brazzaville: Ouesso, but I think that may be a subspecies.

Female Cirina forda on Carissa grandifolia

Rolf Oberprieler writes, ""Cirina" forda: I have followed the treatment in Vari et al. (2002) of placing Cirina as a synonym of Imbrasia. Forda is very similar to typical Imbrasia (ertli, epimethea, etc.) in both adult and larval characters, in fact closer than these are to the various "Gonimbrasia" and "Nudaurelia" species, and cannot be placed in its own genus without leaving Imbrasia s. str. paraphyletic. I'm busy studying the Imbrasia complex in more detail."

In Namibia this species flies mainly in Caprivi and along the Kavango River, but it is also recorded from Tsumeb and the Waterberg. This may be a Cirina forda female on a Botswana postage stamp. Rolf Oberprieler confirms forda from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Julius Busingye reports it from Uganda. Teemu Klemetti reports it from Tanzania.

It is an important human food in the PR Congo, Burkina Faso and Nigeria and probably also flies in Benin and Togo and throughout Central Africa.

The moths from western Africa are more likely Cirina butryospermi.

It appears that the western butryospermi has week cell markings on all wings; amieti has strong cell markings on all wings, and the more easterly forda has intermendiate cell markings on the hindwings but very week markings on the forewings.

In Bas Congo province this is "a gregarious, savannah species appearing from December to January. It is much sought after but has become difficult to find in some areas where it used to be common. This is primarily due to annual bush fires which destroy the pupae laid about 5cm underground. Only one host plant is known in Bas Congo, Crossopteryx febrifuga, the Ordeal tree. Defoliation of the tree usually indicates the presence of this caterpillar.

"A pyramid of eggs is laid on a twig and these hatch out and feed nearby. Moulting takes place wherever the caterpillars happen to be, rather than in a group. The final instar is normally collected before the caterpillars fall to the ground and pupate just below the soil surface. Unless disturbed this species does not move far from the area the previous generation occupied. Thus, providing enough caterpillars are allowed to pupate and fire breaks are well maintained, the species can be reared annually on the same spot.

"If bush fires can be restricted to certain times of the year it has been shown that pupae are not so badly affected. Production of this species can easily amount to 5kg. dried caterpillars /ha. as the food plant is a very common savannah species in many areas of the province. It should be possible for this species to be reared as a compound species as the tree is fairly small, coppices well producing large amounts of fresh green foliage at the start of the rains.

"Gut contents have to be removed before cooking. This is done by slitting open the caterpillar and washing out the contents or by using a sharpened stick to push the caterpillar inside out."

http://www.taa.org.uk/TAAScotland/EdibleCaterpillars2.htm

In the November Newsletter there was a request for common names used for Saturniidae by local people (Zulu) in Africa.Jane R. Walden writes, "The insects are included in the meat group: amacimbi, or emperor moth larvae, (Saturniidae), mostly Micragone cana, Bunaea alcinoe, and Cirina forda .... The amacimbi are noted as a good source of protein and thiamin and an excellent source of riboflavin and calcium. As meat, amacimbi can be prepared by either sun-drying or roasting, and salt may be added. For adding to soups, amacimbi should be cleaned, boiled for approximately 2 1/2 hours, steamed dry and fried."

The native people are more interested in the caterpillers for food than they are in the adult insects for display. I guess one species is as tasty as the next, so they are all amacimbi.

In addition to the nominate subspecies (Cirina forda forda), there were at least two additional subspecies recognized, Cirina forda amieti (now elevated to full species status) from Cameroun and Gabon and possibly Republic of Central Africa; and Cirina forda orientalis from Tanzania.

According to guidelines with regard to naming species/suspecies, there should not be an overlap in ranges. I do not know range limitations for any of the subspecies. The following specimen is from Yokadouma, southeastern Est Province, southeastern Cameroun. It may be Cirina amieti.

Cirina forda ssp. (amieti??) male, Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroun,
courtesy of Constanza Michele, May 15, 2010, via Antoine Guyonnet.

Cirina forda ssp. (amieti??) male, Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroun,
courtesy of Constanza Michele, May 15, 2010, via Antoine Guyonnet.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The Pallid Emperor flies in October and November and then sometimes again in February and March. Holland reports them on the wing in June and August in Medje, Congo. Constanza Michele reports one of the subspecies on the wing in Cameroun in mid May.

Larvae feed on Wild Seringa (Burkea africana ) and Ordeal Tree (Erythrophloem africanum ). The Natal Plum (Carissa grandifolia ) is easily cultivated indoors and is listed as an alternate foodplant. Uwe Kauz reports them on oak. Alan Marson reports success rearing larvae on sweetgum (Liquidambar) and also on cider gum (Eucalyptus gunnii.

Cirina forda male, courtesy of Frans Desmet,
Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium

Cirina forda pair, courtesy of Franz Ziereis.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Cirina forda adults mate and fly at night and both sexes come to lights, the males usually later than the females. The urge to oviposit is so strong that females seldom visit lights without having first deposited all their eggs.

Males have slight projections on the lower wings. Both sexes rest with all wings folded together rather than flattened.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Eggs are laid in a single large cluster around the tips of foodplant twigs. Larvae are extremely gregarious in all instars. They are smooth with thin yellow stripes in the first three instars before taking on the hairy, speckled appearance of the final two moults. Pupation is under the soil.

In Nigeria the larvae are picked from Sheabutter trees, are called "Kanni", and are widely eaten after being boiled and sun dried. In the Congo the larvae are eaten in "Vegetable Soup", a valuable human food source.

Natural hosts in central Africa include Crossopteryx febrifuga, Erythrophleum guineense and Erythrophleum suaveolens.

Cirina forda fifth instar on Burkea africana, Magaliesberg, South Africa.

Cirina forda fourth or fifth instar, on Crossopteryx febrifuga,
Bas Congo, central western Democratic Republic of the Congo, April 3, 2012,

Cirina forda fourth or fifth instar, on Crossopteryx febrifuga,
Bas Congo, central western Democratic Republic of the Congo, April 3, 2012,

Cirina forda fourth or fifth fifth instar, on Crossopteryx febrifuga,
Bas Congo, central western Democratic Republic of the Congo, April 3, 2012,

Alan Marson has recently had success rearing this species on sweetgum (Liquidambar). His recollection is that all larvae had black heads, thoracic shields, anal plates and claspers in the final instar.

Cirina forda fourth and fifth instar, reared on sweetgum, Zambia,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Cirina forda fourth and fifth instar, reared on sweetgum, Zambia,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Cirina forda fifth instar, reared on sweetgum, Zambia,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Cirina forda fifth instar, reared on sweetgum, Zambia,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Alan Marson is also having success rearing Cirina forda early instar larvae on Eucalyptus gunnii.

Cirina forda pupae, reared on sweetgum, Zambia,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

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 nilotica Albizia versicolor Aloe Burkea africana Carissa edulis Carissa grandiflora Crossopteryx febrifuga Ekebergia meyeri Erythrophloem guineense...... Erythrophleum suaveolens Eucalyptus gunnii (AM) Euclea undulata Faidherbia albida Hippobromus pauciflora Pappea capensis Liquidambar (AM) Prunus Pyrus malus Quercus UK Rhus laurina Rhus longifolia Schinus molle Schotia speciosa Sideroxylon inerme..... Warburgia

Gum-Arabic wattle Silktree Aloe Wild Syringa Karaunda Natal plum Mukwati/Ngungo Ekebergia Ordeal tree/Ngbanda Erythrophleum suaveolens Cider gum Ebony Faidherbia Hippobromus Wild plum Sweetgum Cherry Apple Oak Laurel sumac Bastard willow California peppertree Boerboon Milkweed Warburgia

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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.

"Imbrasia", according to Pinhey, 1972, is from the Latin 'imber' meaning rain. Flight, in many cases, may accompany the onset of the rainy season or moths may seem to prefer humid, misty or even rainy nights.

The species name "'forda' (Latin) means a cow in a calf. Perhaps the tailed and rounded hind wings resemble the udders of a cow" (Pinhey 1972).

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