DISTRIBUTION:

Lobobunaea phaedusa christyi rexnoctuae (wingspan: males: 145mm (BG); females: ??) flies in
western Africa: Burkina Faso;
Benin (BG) and possibly other countries.

Thierry Bouyer equates L. phaeax Jordan, 1910, and L. molleti Darge, 1975, with rexnoctuae, which he lists as a subspecies of L. phaedus christyi. This genus still requires revision.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Lobobunaea phaedusa christyi rexnoctuae moths are on the wing in July.

Lobobunaea phaeax female, Burkina Faso, July 2006, courtesy of Yves Pascal Dion.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Lobobunaea phaedusa christyi rexnoctuae females attract males with an airbourne pheromone.

Lobobunaea phaedusa christyi rexnoctuae, male, Benin,
145mm, July, courtesy of Bill Garthe.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Females deposit eggs at night on hostplant foliage. Larvae feed and mature in approximately six weeks. At maturity, the larvae leave the host plant to pupate in subterranean chambers.

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.

Euphorbiaceae.....

Eye-ball tree

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.

The genus name Lobobunaea, is from the Greek and refers to a lobed hill-dweller. The genus specimen type is Lobobunaea phaedusa, males of which have a valve with a subapical lobe. The hindwings are also lobed at the anal angle. It may also be a montane species.

The species name phaedusa means "shining" in Greek, and may have been chosen to recognize the bright rings around the hindwing ocellus. The subspecies name christyi is honourific for Christy; rexnoctuae probably means "king of the night".

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