Gynanisa maja
gye-nuh-NEE-suhMMAY-uh or MAH-juh
(Klug, 1836) (Saturnia)

Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon

Gynanisa thiryi male, Sakania, Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
September 21, 2014, courtesy of Nigel Voaden, id by Bill Oehlke.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelcom.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: Gynanisa, Walker, 1855

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DISTRIBUTION:

Gynanisa maja, The Speckled Emperor, (wingspan: males: 110-130mm; females:105-125mm), is widely distributed in southern Africa (South Africa, Swaziland) and ranges northward through Namibia into Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola and Zambia. In Tanzania and Kenya and further north it is replaced by subspecies Gynanisa maja terrali.

The species is absent, however, from the southwestern arid and winter rainfall regions.

Gynanisa maja male, Mpumalanga, South Africa,
January 17, 2012, courtesy of Jeni Ingram, id by Bill Oehlke

Gynanisa maja male, Hilton, Kwazulu Natal Midlands, South Africa,
February 17, 2012, courtesy of Sue Bentley, id by Bill Oehlke

A dark moth, frequently refered to as Gynanisa nigra, is not a distinct species (Oberprieler), just a dark form (actually an aberration) of maja. "Gynanisa nigra" is celebrated on a Botswana postage stamp, but that designation is incorrect. The moth depicted is actually G. maja.

It had become common to incorrectly identify many of the darker maja as "nigra".

Thierry Bouyer, however, recognizes G. nigra as a distinct species from Malawi.

Bouyer, 1999, equates macromaja Strand, 1920, simplex Bouvier, 1927, isis (Westwood, 1841) (Saturnia), and tata Wallengren, 1858, with maja.

Pinhey, 1972, indicates males of this species have forewings that are only slightly falcate with outer margins straight or only slightly undulate.

Gynanisa maja terrali male, courtesy/copyright Anatolij Kulak.

Gynanisa maja terrali female, courtesy/copyright Anatolij Kulak.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This emperor flies from late December until at least mid February (February 17, 2012, SB). I believe there is also an October flight, and moths may be on the wing in other months as well. Gynanisa maja larvae feed primarily on Namibia Camel Thorn (Acacia erioloba) and Mopane (Colophospermum mopane). Larvae serve as an important human food source and the species is celebrated on a Mali (subspecies G. m. terrali) postage stamp.

Gynanisa maja, South Africa, October 14, 2009, courtesy of Alexey Yakovlev.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Eclosion is from a deep (20 cm) subterranean pupa. Males fly around midnight, the calling time of females.

Gynanisa maja male copyright protected courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

Gynanisa maja female, courtesy of Horst Kach.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE: Females deposit clusters of 4-12 white eggs on foodplant leaves. The eggs are often sparsely covered with scales from the female's body. Incubation takes only nine to ten days.

Larvae are red upon emergence from the eggs and early instar larvae are gregarious and reddish-black. As they develop, they become solitary feeders, hiding on the underside of leaf stems and twigs. Images from http://hjem.get2net.dk/arne_larsen1/59mopan2.html#59%20Mopane%20worm%202

Basis green colouration with silver (sky coloured) spines offers excellent camouflage. Fully grown larvae (9.0 cm) descend the hostplant in March or April to pupate in deep underground chambers. Images of eggs, first instar and larva to left are from Namibia where they are found at the Ogongo Agricultural College (Omusati region, around Okahao (Omusati) and at Ondobe (Ohangwena).

The image above seems a better match for Pinhey's description of G. ata larva with short orange spines.

The larva to the right was reared in captivity in Florida. Right after a fresh moult, the scoli seem pronounced compared to the rest of the caterpillar body which will fill out considerably. Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Gynanisa maja larva copyright protected courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

Gynanisa maja fifth instar, Tzaneen, Limpopo, South Africa,
December 29, 2008, courtesy of Jacolene Meyer, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Gynanisa maja fifth instar, South Africa, courtesy of Joan Young,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Either there are several incorrect identifications of larvae on this page, or there is more than one Gynanisa species in South Africa, or Gynanisa maja larvae are highly variable.

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 maja or (maia) is probably from maia", in greek mythology, the goddess of land and growth. Maja is the Roman goddess of the spring time, for whom the month of May is named.

Larval Food Plants

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 erioloba Acacia karroo Acacia mearnsi Acacia mollissima Berlinia paniculata Brachystegia venosa Cassia Colophospermum mopane..... Elephantorrhiza burchelli Julbernardia Laburnum Peltophorum Prunus persica Pterocarpus Quercus gambelii Quercus robar Quercus turneri Robinia pseudoacacia Schotia brachypetalia

Namibia Camel Thorn Karro wattle Black wattle Black wattle Mnondo Msasa Senna Mopane Elephant's Foot Mnondo Bean tree Wattle Peach Mukwa Gambel oak English oak oak Locust Weeping Boerbean

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