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Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis male, 128mm, Bioko Island, on my home computer only.
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 |
Wind Beneath My Wings |
DISTRIBUTION:The Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis moth (wingspan: males: approx. 90-128mm; females: 120-137mm) flies in Bioko Island of Equatorial Guinea.
Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis male, 115mm, Bioko Island, on my home computer only. FLIGHT TIMES AND LARVAL HOSTS:This speceis probably?? flies from October until April.They may?? also fly in June.
Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis male, 121mm, Bioko Island, on my home computer only. ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:Both sexes are active at night.Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis female, 137mm, Bioko Island, on my home computer only. EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:Larvae probably eat Green wattle, Red thorn, Silk-tree/Mimosa, Ekpogoi, Mundu/Myombo/Mtondo, African Canarium, Holarrhena floribunda, Muhumula/Musira/Muhongera/Muguruka, Newtonia and Willow.Pupation is in the soil in a subterranean chamber.
Larval Food PlantsIt is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the probable ?? foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.
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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.
"Imbrasia", according to Pinhey, 1972, is from the Latin 'imber' meaning rain.
Flight, in many cases, may accompany the onset of the rainy season
or moths may seem to prefer humid, misty or even rainy nights.
The species name "epimethea" probably comes from Greek mythology, where
Epimetheus ("hindsight", literally "hind-thought") was the brother of
Prometheus ("foresight", literally "fore-thought"), a pair of Titans
who "acted as representatives of mankind". They
were the inseparable sons of Iapetus, who in other contexts was the
father of Atlas. The subspecies name "biokoensis" indicates a range on
Bioko Island of Equatorial Guinea.
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