Gonimbrasia belina annulata
gon-ihm-BRAY-zee-uhMbeh-LEE-nuhMann-you-LAY-tuh
Bouvier, 1936

Gonimbrasia belina annulata female,
117mm, Rusterberg, North West Province, South Africa,
November 28, 2014, courtesy of Mike Buczkowski.

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: Bunaeini, Packard, 1902 Genus: Gonimbrasia, Butler, 1878

DISTRIBUTION:

Thierry Bouyer indicates Gonimbrasia belina annulata (wingspan: males: ; females: 117mm) as a subspecies of belina, but clarifies in his notes, "The Gonimbrasia belina group is complex and all taxa related to belina are just listed (except obvious synonyms). Some of these species may represent separate species or subspecies."

I (Bill Oehlke) would not be surprised if many of the moths, currently (2006) listed as subspecies of belina, are someday synonymized with belina.

As of January 29, 2017, I have not seen any publication that clarifies if this moth has been synonymized with nominate belina, remains a subspecies of belina, or has been elevated to full species status.

This page will be updated as images and information become available. Currently I have very little information.

I believe this moth flies in Transvaal, South Africa.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Mike Buczkowski reports a November 28, 2014, flight in Rusterberg, North West Province, South Africa. There are probably additional flight months.

Gonimbrasia belina annulata female (verso),
117mm, Rusterberg, North West Province, South Africa,
November 28, 2014, courtesy of Mike Buczkowski.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Eclosion is from underground pupae.

Gonimbrasia belina annulata pupae, South Africa,
courtesy of Jurgen van Houdt.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

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.

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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.

The genus name Gonimbrasia means "angled one liking rain" according to Pinhey.

The species name belina might be for a mythical king (Pinhey, 1972); it might also be for a peasant girl who gave up her life to protect her virginity.

The subspecies name annulata might ?? refer to rings.