DISTRIBUTION:

Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) alopia (wingspan: males: approximately 100-120mm; females: 108mm and probably larger) flies in Zambia and the Central African Republic. Julius Busingye reports it from Uganda. Felix Stumpf reports it from Ivory Coast: Adiopodoumé and Mokta (SCI). Eric van Schayck reports it from Cameroon: Sud Province: Elone, Centre Province Yaounde, probably thoughout southern Cameroon. Jean-Louis Albert sends me the image to the right from Gabon: Haut-Ogooue: Franceville. The Natural History Museum reports it from Sierra Leone. I suspect it also flies in Liberia, Ghana, Togo (confirmed by Alan Marson), Benin, Guinea including Bioko Island and Nigeria. Thierry Bouyer confirms it in Gabon, Kenya and Democratic Republic of the Congo. I suspect (confirmed SA#8) it also flies in People's Republic of the Congo: Oesso.

Visit Nudaurelia alopia male, recto and verso, Franceville, Gabon, November 3, 2007, wingspan 100mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

Visit Nudaurelia alopia males, recto and verso, Franceville, Gabon, November 5, 2007, wingspan 105mm, and December 3, 2008, wingspan 119mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) alopia moth flies in the months of October-November-December in Gabon, and possibly at other times. It is confirmed for Elone (Sud Province), Cameroon, in July, suggesting at least two broods annually. Forbi Lucas reports an August flight in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Alain Coache reports a June flight in Benin.

SCI reports flights in Ivory Coast where the moth had generally been reported as rhodophila: Mokta (June) and Adiopodoumé (October). Thierry Bouyer equates rhodophila with alopia.

Larvae feed on Trema guineensis. Alan Marson reports success with them on sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua).

Nudaurelia alopia, male (recto) Franceville, Gabon, October 2004,
wingspan: 113mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

Nudaurelia alopia, male (verso) Franceville, Gabon, October 2004,
wingspan: 113mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

Nudaurelia alopia, female, Franceville, Gabon,
November 3, 2007, wingspan: 108mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

Nudaurelia alopia, female (verso), Franceville, Gabon,
November 3, 2007, wingspan: 108mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) alopia (male), Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Nudaurelia alopia male, Attogon, Niaouli Forest, Benin,
June 9, 2016, courtesy/copyright Alain Coache, id by Bill Oehlke.

Gonimbrasia alopia male, Attogon, Niaouli Forest, Benin,
June 9, 2016, courtesy/copyright Alain Coache, id by Thierry Bouyer.

On June 11, 2016, I sent the image directly above to Thierry Bouyer for id help. I had suggested it might be a weakly marked Nudaurelia alopia. Thierry responded, "Actually this is Gonimbrasia alopia. As far as I know it has not yet been split officially despite it is in need (some names are available to name the different species)."

In some classification systems both Gonimbrasia and Nudaurelia are treated as separate genera, while in others classification systems Nudaurelia is treated as a subgenus of Gonimbrasia.

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.

Nudaurelia alopia male, Elone, Cameroon, July 2006,
wingspan: 117mm, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner.

Nudaurelia alopia (verso), Elone, Cameroon, July 2006,
wingspan: 117mm, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Mature larvae pupate in subterranean chambers.

Visit Nudaurelia alopia eggs and larvae (all instars) from Togo, on sweetgum, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) alopia fifth instar on sweetgum,
Togo, courtesy of Alan Marson.

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.

Albizia ferruginea Liquidambar styraciflua ....... Trema guineensis

Musase Sweetgum (AM) Andrareza

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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/subgenus name Nudaurelia means 'naked gold' (Pinhey), and refers to the colouration of the specimen type Bombyx dione.

I do not know the reason for the species name "alopia".