Decachorda rosea
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Updated as per T. Bouyer's Catalogue, 1999, April 4, 2006
Updated as per E. Pinhey's Emperor Moths of South and South-central Africa, April 4, 2006
Updated as per personal communication with Nigel Voaden (Sakania, Katanga, DRC, December 3, 2013); August 20, 2014
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Decachorda rosea
dek-uh-KORD-uhMROSE-ay-uh
Aurivillius, 1898
Decachorda rosea male courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.
Decachorda rosea?? male, Ruizi, Mbarara, Ankole, Uganda,
March 19, 1966, Cornell University Collection, courtesy of Ryan Saint-Laurent,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.
Decachorda rosea?? male, Ruizi, Mbarara, Ankole, Uganda,
September 27, 1965, Cornell University Collection, courtesy of Ryan Saint-Laurent,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.
| TAXONOMY:
Superfamily: Bombycoidea Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Saturniinae Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Tribe: Micragonini Cockerell in Packard, 1914 (1902)
Genus: Decachorda, Aurivillius,1898 | |
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DISTRIBUTION:
The Rosy Roundwing, Decachorda rosea (forewing length 18-22mm), flies in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo TB; and
Zimbabwe. Julius Busingye reports it from
Uganda.
Pinhey, 1972, includes Zambia,
Malawi,
Kenya ??,
Angola, Shaba (Katanga),
DRC, and
East Africa in its range.
I suspect it is also in Tanzania,
Rwanda and Burrundi.
Thierry Bouyer
indicates it may fly in Gabon.
Pinhey, 1972, describes this species as pink to reddish pink, sometimes with a yellow tint to basal area.
There is no am line and the pm line is usually almost straight and maybe brown or orange (yellow) and brown.
The cell spots in his images are only weakly outlined. I am not completely confident that the moth depicted above is D. rosea;
it seems a better match for D. pomona.
Pinhey mentions, however, that he is not completely confident that his description applies to true pomona.
The moth depicted directly below seems a much better match for Decachorda rosea.
Decachorda rosea male, Sakania, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
December 3, 2013, courtesy of Nigel Voaden.
I think determinations in this genus will be extremely difficult until more definitive works are published.
FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:
This moth probably flies in December-Janauary, again in April, and possibly at other times.
Decachorda rosea larvae feed on Hyparrhenia.
ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:
EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:
Orange brown larvae are reported to be very hairy,
like the Arctiidae, even curling
into a ring when disturbed.D. rosea larva from Pinhey's
Emperor Moths of South and South-Central Africa, 1972,
on my home computer only. |
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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.
Hyparrhenia......
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Thatching grass
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Return to Decachorda Genus
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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.
There are many collectors from different countries whose
intonations and accents would be different.
The genus name Decachorda means ten chords
and may refer to the number of veins on the forewing.
The species name "rosea" refers to the pinkish tinge of this
species.