Ubaena granti/sabunii
Updated as per Pinhey's Emperor Moths of South and South-Central Africa, 1972, April 17, 2006
Updated as per Bouyer's Catalogue of African Saturniidae, 1999, April 17, 2006

Ubaena granti/sabunii
yoo-BEE-nuhmmsuh-BUHN-nee-eye
Terral et Lequeux, n.s./Darge & Kilumile, 2004

Ubaena granti/sabunii male, Rubeho Mountains, Tanzania, 8/2003, courtesy of Teemu Klemetti.

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: Bunaeini, Packard, 1902
Genus: Ubaena, Karsch, 1900

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DISTRIBUTION:

Ubaena granti/sabunii flies in the Rubeho Mountains of eastern Tanzania. I believe these mountains are in the Dodoma and Morogoro regions/districts. Minetti Robert reports it is diurnal.

Thierry Bouyer indicates the name Ubaena granti was never published, to his knowledge, and the moths depicted are Ubaena sabunii Darge & Kilumile, 2004.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Ubaena granti/sabunii larvae probably feed on Pinus patula and Pinus radiata.

Ubaena granti/sabunii female, courtesy of Teemu Klemetti

These Ubaena specimens are from the Rubeho Mountains of Tanzania.

The specimens look much like Ubaena dolabella, but the dark bands are stronger, the hindwings have more red color and ocelli seem larger in these specimens.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Eclosion is from underground pupae.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae pupate under soil near base of trees.

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.

I do not know the source of Ubaena, but it probaly comes from a latinized form of Ubena, a region which lies in Tanzania just north-east of Lake Nyasa. Pinhey indicates it is an anagram of Bunaea.

The species name is probably honourific for a colleague or collector named Sabun or Sabuni.

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.

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