Tagoropsis flavinata

Updated as per Pinhey's Emperor Moths of South and South-Central Africa, 1972, January 7, 2006
Updated as per Bouyer's Catalogue of African Saturniidae, 1999, January 7, 2006
Updated as per Cooper's The Emperor Moths of KwaZulu-Natal, 2002, January 7, 2006
Updated as per personal correspondence with and images from Thierry Bouyer, May 2006

Tagoropsis flavinata
tagh-gor-OPS-ihsMflagh-vihn-AY-tuh
Walker, 1865

Tagoropsis flavinata female courtesy of Leroy Simon.

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
Family: Saturniidae Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Saturniinae Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Tribe: Urotini, Packard, 1902
Genus: Tagoropsis, R. Felder, 1874

MIDI MUSIC

"African Midi Music"

ON.OFF

DISTRIBUTION:

The Gold-marbled Emperor, Tagoropsis flavinata (wingspan: 70-90mm), flies in South Africa (up to 900m) and along the east coast to at least Kenya as subspecies septentrionalis Julius Busingye reports it from Uganda, possibly in error. It is probably subspecies septentrionalis that flies from Mozambique northwards.

Thierry Bouyer, 1999, equates this moth with Tagoropsis natalensis Felder, 1874.

Tagoropsis flavinata male, courtesy of Thierry Bouyer.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Tagoropsis flavinata flies from September until May in South Africa. There appears to be two broods. Larvae feed on Allophyllus africanus, Allophys dregeanus, Allophylus melanocarpus, Allophys natalensis, Allophylus subcoriaceus and Schmidelia africana.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:
Females emit an airbourne pheromone at night and males track the scent with their antennae by flying in a zigzag pattern into the wind.
Tagoropsis flavinata female, courtesy of Thierry Bouyer.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Pale yellow eggs are small and oval and are deposited in tiers on foliage and twigs. Incubation is relatively slow, taking from 20-23 days.
Larvae are gregarious, hiding low on the stem during the day, moving head to tail up the stem to foliage at night.
Mature larvae are 75mm long. They pupate amongst leaf litter.
Shiny, dark pupae have a cremaster about 2-4cm long. Moths eclose at night.
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.

Allophyllus africanus
Allophys dregeanus
Allophylus melanocarpus .......
Allophys natalensis
Allophylus subcoriaceus
Schmidelia africana

False Currant
False Currant
False Currants
False Currant
False Currant
Schmidelia africana

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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.
The word Tagoropsis means a 'leading aspect', probably indicating ease of identification (Pinhey).
The species name, 'flavinata', means 'yellow marked' (Pinhey).

Tagoropsis flavinata male, Cooper and Cooper, my home computer only.

Tagoropsis flavinata larva, Cooper and Cooper, my home computer only.

Tagoropsis flavinata pupa, Cooper and Cooper, my home computer only.