DISTRIBUTION:

The Gynanisa albescens moth flies in Malawi, Tanzania; maybe D. R. Congo and maybe Kenya.

Gynanisa carcassoni, Rougeot, 1974, is same as albescens according to Thierry Bouyer and Rolf Oberprieler

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Gynanisa albescens larvae probably feed upon Khaya nyasica, Brachystegia venosa, Acacia, and Julbernardia.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Eclosion is from a subterranean pupa. Males fly around midnight, the calling time of females.

Gynanisa albescens female courtesy of Teemu Klemetti

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

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.

I do not know the source of Gynanisa, but it probaly comes from some combination of the following: "gyn" is a Latin prefix for woman. The Arabic "Anisa" (ah-NEE-sah) means "friendly, congenial." The Hindi "Anisha" means "end of night." Since "maja" is a common Hindi word, as are ata and jama, two other species in the genus, I suspect there is a link in their choices even though the species were determined in 1936 (maja), 1911 (ata) and 1915 (jama). The females of this species call around midnight, technically the end of the night, the beginning of a new day.

The species name albescens might refer to the prominent white scaling just outside the antemedial line.

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.

Acacia Brachystegia venosa..... Julbernardia Khaya nyasica

Acacia Msasa Mnondo Nyasaland mahogany

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