Gonimbrasia hecate
gon-ihm-BRAY-zee-uhMHECK-eh-tee
Rougeot, 1955

Gonimbrasia hecate courtesy of Mark Goode.

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:

Gonimbrasia hecate (wingspan: males: 108mm (BG); females: probably larger) flies in Africa in Ivory Coast (FS): Korhogo (June), Lamto (February, May, June) (SCI); the Republic of Mali; Senegal: Kaolock, Saalum; and the Republic of Haute Volta = Burkina Faso, adorning postage stamps from both republics. It is also taken in Burkina Faso (Rodolphe Rougerie); Benin (BG) and in Tanzania and probably in all the countries in between. Maybe ?? it flies in Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea including Bioko Island. It has also been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Eric van Schayck reports it from Chad.

These stamps from Burkina Faso honour Gonimbrasia hecate. Haute Volte or Upper Volte is synonymous with Burkina Faso, the current name of the west African nation. Thierry Bouyer adds Kenya.

Colouration can be quite variable as evidenced by the following two males, both from Senegal.

Gonimbrasia hecate male, Senegal,
courtesy of Alain Coache, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Gonimbrasia hecate male, Senegal,
courtesy of Alain Coache, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Gonimbrasia hecate male, Senegal,
courtesy of Alain Coache, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Gonimbrasia hecate male, Senegal,
courtesy of Alain Coache, id by Thierry Bouyer.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in Boabang-Fiema, Ghana, in April. Bill Garthe reports an August flight in Benin.

There are probably additional flight months.

Gonimbrasia hecate larvae feed on Annona, Bauhinia, Berlinia, Combretum and Terminalia.

Gonimbrasia hecate female, Boabang-Fiema, Ghana,
April 9, 2007, courtesy of Jon Baker.

Gonimbrasia hecate (female), Chad, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Gonimbrasia hecate (male), Chad, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

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.

Gonimbrasia hecate male, 108mm, Benin,
August 2002, Benin, courtesy of Bill Garthe.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae pupate under soil near base of trees.

Combretum psidioides and Terminalia sp. are listed as larval hosts in central Africa.

Gonimbrasia hecate fifth instar, Kaolock, Saalum, Senegal,
October 7, 2004, courtesy of JH, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Gonimbrasia hecate fifth instar, on my home computer only.

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.

Annona Bauhinia Berlinia Combretum psidioides....... Terminalia

Annona Kanchan Mnondo Red wings Assegi wood

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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 hecate is from mythology where Hecate is the Greek goddess of the crossroads.