Heniocha apollonia
hen-ee-OAK-uhMagh-pol-LOH-nee-uh
(Cramer, 1779) (Phalaena)

Heniocha apollonia male, courtesy of Kirby Wolfe

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: Heniocha, Hübner, [1819] 1816

MIDI MUSIC Wind Beneath My Wings copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="wings.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Heniocha apollonia, The Southern Marbled Emperor (wingspan: males: 60-70mm; females: 65-75mm), is restricted to the less arid portions of southern Africa from the south western Cape Province along the eastern Cape coast and Natal into Transvaal, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Thierry Bouyer confirms it in Malawi. BOLD Systems reports it is also found in Zambia.

Heniocha apollonia female, Western Cape Province, South Africa,
November 9, 2011, courtesy of Kei Heyns.

The brown center on the thorax distinguishes this species from H. distincta, and the well-developed eyespots on all wings are lacking in the hind wings of H. dyops and H. marnois. The moth is also "recognized" on a Central Africa Republic Stamp as H. marnois, but the species depicted is actually H. apollonia. RO

Rolf Oberprieler writes, "Heniocha apollonia: I now treat H. flavida as a species distinct from H. apollonia. After my 1995 book I managed to rear this smaller, yellow species and found that there are significant differences in the larvae from H. apollonia too. Both species occur in South Africa and Zimbabwe, but in Namibia only H. flavida occurs."

Heniocha apollonia male, 68mm, BOLD Systems.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Heniocha apollonia adults are on the wing from October to April.

Larvae feed on Acacia karroo and other narrow-leafed acacias.

Heniocha apollonia female, 75mm, BOLD Systems.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Moths mate and fly at night with both sexes attracted to lights. Males are usually smaller than females, and moths in the more northern part of the range tend to be smaller than those from the south.

Heniocha apollonia male, Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape Province, South Africa,
courtesy of What's That Bug?

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in small rows of 6-10 on foodplant leaves. Larvae are at first gregarious becoming more solitary after the second instar when they begin hiding on the undersides of leaves and branches. Silvery spines provide excellent camouflage against a light sky. Lengths of 60 mm are achieved before larvae descend trees to pupate in soil.

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 karroo Acacia mollissima.....

Sweet thorn Black wattle

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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.

In Greek mythology Heniocha is the daughter of Pittheus and the mother of Sciron.

The species name apollonia, means 'having to do with the Greek God Apollo'. There was an important city named Apollonia.