DISTRIBUTION:

The Cat's Paw Emperor, Pseudobunaea tyrrhena tyrrhena, flies in woodlands in eastern South Africa (Port Natal) and possibly Zimbabwe as the nominate subspecies.

Darge, 2003, recognizes a number of subspecies delineated by range:

tyrrhena tyrrhena (Westwood, 1849) Swaziland and South Africa
tyrrhena fumida Darge, 2003 eastern Malawi
tyrrhena maculata Bouvier, 1930 Kenya
tyrrhena neglecta Darge, 2003 Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, PR Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire)
tyrrhena perchromatum Darge, 2003 Tanzania
tyrrhena pratorum Darge, 1999 Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Republic of Central Africa.

Bouyer, 1999, recognizes only subspecies tyrrhena tyrrhena and tyrrhena gauthier, Darge 1990. Thierry Bouyer reports tyrrhena gauthieri from the Island of Bioko, Africa, and treats maculata as a subspecies of Pseudobunaea epithyrena.

Cooper and Cooper refer to a pale yellow form, in South Africa, as lutea.

Pseudobunaea tyrrhena verso, All Leps Barcode of Life: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario,
on my home computer only.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The Pseudobunaea tyrrhena moth flies in June and again in October in South Africa.

Larvae feed on Albizia adiantifolia, Albizia fastigiata, Celtis africana, Celtis kraussiana, Celtis pallida, Ekebergia capensis, Ekebergia meyeri, Grumilia capensis, Psychotria capensis, Sclerocarya birrea, Trema bracteolata, Treema orientalis, Ulmus and Fagus.

Pseudobunaea tyrrhena tyrrhena, South Africa, courtesy of Chris Conlan.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Both sexes fly at night with the males coming in to lights around midnight, the scenting time of the females.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Females carry up to 200 orange eggs and deposit them singly or in small clusters of 2-6 on the uppersides of foliage. Eggs have one end that is white.

Incubation lasts approximately two weeks.

Eclosion is at night from underground pupae.

At maturity (up to 70mm long) larvae descend tree trunks and pupate in subterranean chambers.

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, tyrrhena, meaning winding river, is descriptive of the wavy lines on the forwings.

Pseudobunaea tyrrhena tyrrhena final instar, on Ekebergia capensis,
South Africa, courtesy of Chris Conlan.

There seems to be considerable variability with regard to size and number of silvery spots on the dorsal sides.

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 adiantifolia Albizia fastigiata Celtis africana Celtis kraussiana Celtis pallida Ekebergia meyeri Ekebergia capensis Grumilia capensis Psychotria capensis Sclerocarya birrea Trema bracteolata....... Ulmus Fagus

Flatcrown Silktree/Raintree White Stinkwood Hackberry Hackberry Ekebergia meyer Cape Ash Grumilia capensis (CC) Black-bird berry Marula Trema bracteolata Elm Beech

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Pseudobunaea tyrrhena male, Cooper and Cooper, home computer only.

Pseudobunaea tyrrhena larvae, Cooper and Cooper, home computer only.