DISTRIBUTION:

Gynanisa germeauxi/jama festa (wingspan: males: 122-130mm; females: 125-130mm) flies in Uganda ??.

BOLD Systems lists it for
Ivory Coast,
Burkina Faso,
Benin and
Togo.

Alain Coache provides an image from Benin that I have tentatively identified as Gynanisa jama festa.

Gynanisa jama festa male, 130mm, BOLD, on my home computer only.

I am not sure if the moths on this page are subspecies festa. Nor am I sure which species festa is assigned to as a subspecies, jama or germeauxi.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

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

Gynanisa jama festa female, 125mm, BOLD, on my home computer only.

Gynanisa jama festa female, Benin,
courtesy of Alain Coache, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Gynanisa jama festa female, 130mm, Benin,
courtesy of Alain Coache, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

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 germeauxi is honourific for Germeaux. I think this species is now treated as jama.

The subspecies name festa suggests a party, gathering or special activity. Perhaps the moth was observed at a special time.

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.

Acacia Brachystegia venosa..... Julbernardia Khaya nyasica

Acacia Msasa Mnondo Nyasaland mahogany

Return to Gynanisa Genus

Return to Main Saturniidae Index