Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) rubra
Bouvier, 1927

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Nudaurelia rubra male, Sakania, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
January 27, 2014, courtesy Nigel Voaden.

Nudaurelia rubra male, Sakania, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
January 28, 2015, courtesy Nigel Voaden.

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: Gonimbrasia, Butler, 1878

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DISTRIBUTION:

The Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) rubra moth (wingspan: males: 90mm; females: approximately 106mm) flies in
Zambia: Mbala;
southern Tanzania and
northern Malawi, and
southern Democratic Republic of the Congo: Elisabethville; Sakania.

Bouyer, 1999, indicates this name is unavailable, and that rubra is a synonym of rhodina.

The female is an especially deep red.

Nudaurelia rubra male, Mbala, Zambia,
90mm, February, 1972, courtesy David Rolfe, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Nudaurelia rubra female, Elisabethville, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Lepidoptera Types of the Royal Museum for Central Africa

Nudaurelia rubra female (verso), Elisabethville, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Lepidoptera Types of the Royal Museum for Central Africa

FLIGHT TIMES AND LARVAL HOSTS:

David Rolfe reports a flight in Zambia in February.

Gonimbrasia rubra larvae feed on Uapaca kirkiana, Uapaca nitida and Corylus as well as fruit trees.

Nudaurelia rubra male (verso), courtesy David Rolfe, id by Thierry Bouyer.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Both sexes are active at night. Males come in to lights around midnight when females are scenting.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

The larval head and body are velvety black. Spines are reddish and spiracles are white.

Pupation is in the soil in a subterranean chamber.

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.

Corylus Uapaca kirkiana....... Uapaca nitida

Hazel Wild loquat Wild loquat

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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.

The species name "rhodina", is the name the Greeks gave to the supercontinent. The species name "rubra", is for the red colouration of this moth.