Gonimbrasia belina
Imbrasia belina
gon-ihm-BRAY-zee-uhMbeh-LEE-nuhMbeh-LEE-nuhmm
(Westwood, 1849) Saturnia

Gonimbrasia belina moth courtesy of Leroy Simon.
Also classified as Imbrasia belina, Acanthocampa belina and Nudaurelia belina.

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

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DISTRIBUTION: Imbrasia belina, The Anomalous Emperor, (wingspan 10-12.5 cm), is widely distributed in the eastern half of southern Africa and ranges further north into eastern and central portions of that continent: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana. Thierry Bouyer confirms it for Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Imbrasia belina is the common "Masonja", eaten by the ton (valuable human food source) by the local inhabitants of the arid Northern parts of Africa.

Colouration of adults is highly variable. Visit Gonimbrasia belina male, Zimbabwe; females from Kwa ZuluNatal, South Africa and Botswana, courtesy of John Kamps.

There is such a great demand for this caterpillar for human food that it may be harvested to extinction in some areas of Botswana and Zimbabwe where native peoples sometimes chop down trees to get at the "worms".

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This Gonimbrasia belina moth flies in the mopane veld from late December to early February. Guido Coza reports a November 9, 2010 , flight in South Africa. In dry areas the moth is sometimes seen in March.

Jacolene Meyer sends images of specimens taken on November 19, 2008.

Gonimbrasia belina male (brown form), Tzaneen, Limpopo, South Africa,
November 19, 2008, broederstroomdrift area, courtesy of Jacolene Meyer.

Gonimbrasia belina male (red form), Tzaneen, Limpopo, South Africa,
November 19, 2008, broederstroomdrift area, courtesy of Jacolene Meyer.

Gonimbrasia belina fifth instar, Tzaneen, Limpopo, South Africa,
December 14, 2008, broederstroomdrift area, courtesy of Jacolene Meyer.

Mopane (Clophospermum mopane) is the preferred foodplant, and gregarious larvae sometimes defoliate entire trees. They will move to alternate foodplants if no other mopane is available. In captivity they have been reported on Ficus microcarpa and Quercus ilex.

Gonimbrasia belina ??, copyright: Kari Korhonen

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Eclosion is from underground pupae.

Both sexes fly at night with the males coming in to lights around midnight, the scenting time of the females.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters of 50-100 and larvae remain gregarious throughout their feeding cycle. These eggs were deposited on February 3, 2003 in a paper bag. I suspect the wild-captured female was nearly spent. Image courtesy of Jacolene Meyer.

First instar larvae are a pale brown-grey with black heads and they feed gregariously at leaf tip. Image courtesy of Mario Ioppolo.

Larvae are considerably darker in the second instar and have a hairier appearance. They continue to feed gregariously and eat all but the thickest portion of the main leaf vein. Image courtesy of Mario Ioppolo.

Third instar larvae are white with black markings and maintain a hairy appearance. They continue to feed gregariously. Image courtesy of Mario Ioppolo.

By the fourth instar, larvae have become quite attractive, taking on some blue tints as well as some orange lateral markings.

Image courtesy of Mario Ioppolo.

By the fifth instar, larvae have become quite large and are quite variable, often with considerable blue or yellow pigments as well as more extensive orange lateral markings.

Image courtesy of Mario Ioppolo.

Larvae pupate under soil near base of trees. Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon. I do not find them very appetizing, but indigenous people eat them regularly.

At maturity, larvae look for a place to pupate. Mario has provided a loose, clean medium.

Image courtesy of Mario Ioppolo.

It does not take long for the caterpillar to excavate its pupation chamber.

Image courtesy of Mario Ioppolo.

Mario writes, "I observed that caterpillars seems to prefer darkness and a certain depth of substrate: many of them refused to pupate in a few cm of sphagnum moss, becoming very nervous, burrowing in the moss but emerging some hours after or the next day; they preferred much more to pupate in the ground at least 15 cm deep." Perhaps the deep burrowing is a function of need for darkness and can be overcome by a darker environment, but there may be other factors too, such as trying to avoid excess summer heat. The deep substrate certainly is a good idea and may be necessary for complete success.

Kevin Phipps (KP) reports that Eucalyptus gunnii is an excellent food for Gonimbrasia belina.

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.

Burkea africana Carissa grandiflora Carissa macrocarpa Colophospermum mopane..... Copaifera Diospyros Eucalyptus gunnii (KP) Ficus Ficus microcarpa Mangifera indica Ozoroa crassinervia Ozoroa longipes Pinus radiata Platanus Protorhus longifolia Quercus ilex Rhus lancea Rhus longifolia Salix Schotia brachypetala Sclerocarya caffra Sclerocarya birrea Terminalia schweinfurthi Terminalia velutina Trema brachteolata Trema orientalis

Wild syringa Natal plum Natal plum Mopane tree Copaifera Persimmon Cider Gum/Gunni Fig Laurel fig Mango Namibian Resin tree Round-leaved Resin tree Monterey pine Sycamore Red beech Holm Oak Bastard willow Bastard willow Willow Tree Fuchisa Sclerocarya Sclerocarya Assegai wood Assegai wood Trema Trema

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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.