Pseudobunaea illustris
sue-doh-BEWE-nay-uhMihl-LUHS-trihs
Weymer

Pseudobunaea illustris, male, courtesy of Alain van Vyve.

Pseudobunaea illustris, male, Ghana,
courtesy of Jason Wright, via Alan Marson.

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: Pseudobunaea, Bouvier, 1927

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DISTRIBUTION:

Pseudobunaea illustris (wingspan: males: approximately 145-152mm, females: 167-175mm) flies in Cameroon and in Ivory Coast and probably in all countries between those two countries.

Thierry Bouyer confirms it from Cameroon,
Gabon,
DR Congo, and
Ivory Coast. Philippe Darge confirms it in northern Congo Brazzaville Republic: Ouesso; and also in Central African Republic: Sangha: Ndoki PN.

I suspect it also flies in Ghana (confirmed by Alan Marson), Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea including Bioko Island and PR Congo and in Angola.

Thierry Bouyer indicates this specimen from Ghana belongs in the Pseudobunaea illustris group.

Pseudobunaea illustris group male, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Pseudobunaea illustris group male (verso), Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Visit Pseudobunaea illustris male, recto and verso, Franceville, Gabon, 145mm, November 4, 2008.

Pseudobunaea illustris male, Soyo (Zaire Province), northwestern Angola,
courtesy of Jerome Teva Paire, id by Bill Oehlke, confirmed by Thierry Bouyer.

Pseudobunaea illustris male, Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck, id by Thierry Bouyer.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The Pseudobunaea illustris moth flies in the months of October and November in Gabon, and probably at other times. The specimen from Angola was taken in late January.

Larvae feed on Rosa.

Pseudobunaea illustris female, Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Pseudobunaea illustris/alinda male, October 24, 2006
wingspan 145mm, Franceville, Gabon, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Pseudobunaea illustris/alinda male (verso), October 24, 2006
wingspan 145mm, Franceville, Gabon, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert, id by Thierry Bouyer.

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.

The female extends a scent gland from the tip of her abdomen shortly after 11:00 pm. Males fly into the wind in a zigzag pattern and detect the airbourne pheromone with their antennae.

Pseudobunaea illustris male, Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck, id by Thierry Bouyer.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Females deposit eggs on hostplant foliage. After five to six weeks of feeding and development, mature larvae descend foliage and stems to pupate in subterranean chambers.

Alan Marson writes, August 2012: "). I started with fifteen larvae, and at first struggled to get them to eat anything. Eventually they accepted Arbutus unedo (Strawberry Tree). Unfortunately they died off one by one, but I did manage to get just one through to pupa. That individual has just emerged and I believe it to be a Pseudobunaea species very close to P. alinda."

Thierry Bouyer has indicated Alan Marson's moth and larvae belong to the P. illustris group.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) eggs, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) hatchlings, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) first instars, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) mature first instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) second instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) third instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) third instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) third instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) fourth instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) fourth instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) fourth instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) fourth instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) fifth instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) fifth instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) fifth instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) fifth instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) fifth instar, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) male, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson, possible reconstruction/digital alteration by Bill Oehlke.

Pseudobunaea illustris (group) male, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudobunaea from Comoe env., Ivory Coast, courtesy of Jiri Zabokrtsky

Pseudobunaea from Sassandra env., Ivory Coast, courtesy of Jiri Zabokrtsky

Thierry Bouyer, March 2006, indicates the two moths above are probably either Pseudobunaea alinda or Pseudobunaea illustris.

There is little to distinguish these two species.

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.

"Pseudobunaea" is derived from "pseudo" = false or like and Bunaea = "Hill Dwellers".

Many of these moths were placed, at one time, with Lobobunaea, but Pseudobunaea lack spines (present on Pseudobunaea tibia) on the legs, and the hindwing eyespot is grey and/or black without the coppery colour of the Lobobunaea.

The species name, illustris, is a Greek/Roman title of power.

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.

Arbutus unedo (AM) ....... Quercus robur Rosa.......

Strawberry Tree English Oak/Pedunculate Oak/French oak Rose

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Pseudobunaea alinda/illustris female, Elone (Sud), March 18, 2006,
wingspan: 175mm, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Pseudobunaea alinda/illustris female, Elone (Sud), March 18, 2006,
wingspan: 167mm, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner, id by Thierry Bouyer.