Epiphora vacuna berliozi
eh-PIF-er-uhmmvuh-KOO-nuhmmBER-lee-oz-eye
(Butler, 1878) Drepanoptera

Epiphora vacuna berliozi, male, sorry, image not available.

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: Attacini, Blanchard, 1840 Genus: Epiphora, Wallengren, 1860

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

DISTRIBUTION:

Epiphora vacuna berliozi, (wingspan: males: approx. 135mm; females: approx. 125mm) is one of the few Attacini in Africa.

This species flies in
Gabon,
and it may be the same as E. berliozi which is regarded as a synonym of E. perspicua by some. If it is the same as E. perspicua, it has a more extensive range.

Epiphora berliozi male, 132mm, sorry, image not available.

Epiphora berliozi male, 137mm, sorry, image not available.

This appears to be a highly variable species. Consistent characters seem to be the heavy white markings, particularly in the hindwings, and the strong turn toward the inner margin of the hindwing white band as it approaches the anal angle.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There is a July flight (perspicua) in southern Cameroon. The moth may also fly at other times.

Epiphora perspicua larvae probably feed on Fagara macrophylla and many other hosts in the wild and will accept Prickly ash in captivity.

Epiphora vacuna berliozi, female, sorry, image not available.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Epiphora vacuna berliozi females extend a scent gland from the posterior tip of the abdomen to call in the night-flying males. The pair remains coupled until the following evening.

The wings of the female are more rounded than those of the male.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Larvae are spectacular, orange with black tubercles and green spiracles. The cocoon is double walled and resembles the cocoon of the Hyalphora.

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the anticipated foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Fagara macrophylla Xanthoxylum americanum.....

East African Satin Wood Prickly ash

Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.

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.

"Epiphora" is a medical condition of insufficient drainage of the tear film from the eyes. The eyes are often watery, lids inflamed and crusted. I do not know the the reason(s) for the choice of Epiphora as the genus name, but perhaps the large hyaline areas on the wings of mythimnia (specimen type) with the thick white and yellow borders, were suggestive of watery, encrusted eyes.

The species name "vacuna" means plainly visible. The subspecies name berliozi is honourific for Berlioz.