Gonimbrasia tyrrhea
gagh-nim-BRAY-zee-uhMtye-REE-uh
(Cramer, 1777) Phalaena

Gonimbrasia tyrrhea male 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: Bunaeini, Packard, 1902 Genus: Gonimbrasia, Butler, 1878

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DISTRIBUTION:

Gonimbrasia tyrrhea, the Zigzag or Willow-tree Emperor, (wingspan 9.5-12.0 cm), flies from the Transvaal Highveld through the Orange Free State into the eastern and southwestern Cape Province, and north into Namaqualand and the Richtersveld in South Africa. Eric van Schayck reports them from Zambia.

It reportedly also flies in Mombasa, Kenya, but this report must be in error as Rolf Oberprieler indicates this species does not fly in Kenya. It is probably Gonimbrasia hoehneli that flies in Kenya and other eastern countries.

Gonimbrasia tyrrhea (male), Zambia, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Gonimbrasia tyrrhea (female), Zambia, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Cooper and Cooper report it at elevations generally above 900m and suggest assignment to a new genus Montanimbrasia with hoehneli and fletcheri. These brownish, montane moths have the prominent zigzag pattern on the moths and black larvae with white speckling and insignificant scoli/spines.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This moth flies in April-May-June and sometimes again in December in years with early rains. Sweet Thorn, Ebony Tree, and Bluebush are the preferred foodplants, and gregarious larvae sometimes defoliate entire trees.

Males have wider antennae than females and are more brightly coloured.

Peet van Schalkwyk reports them on the wing in April in Swellendam, Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Gonimbrasia tyrrhea male, Swellendam, Western Cape Province, South Africa,
April 27, 2012, Peet van Schalkwyk, on my home computer only.

Gemma Longman reports them on the wing in June in Sebie Valley, Hazyview, Mpumalanga (Eastern Transvaal), South Africa.

Gonimbrasia tyrrhea male, Sebie valley, Hazyview, Mpumalanga, South Africa,
June 6, 2006, Gemma Longman.

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. Gonimbrasia tyrrhea females also come in to lights, but not before they have deposited all their eggs.

Photo (female) courtesy of Leroy Simon.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

The greyish-black larvae are gregarious in early instars, less so as they mature, taking on their characteristic speckling in the third instar. Frequently they become pests in fruit orchards and can defoliate entire trees. This larva is being reared on apple. Photo of fifth instar larva courtesy of Scott Henninger.

This larval image by Leroy Simon shows much more red speckling on the larval skin.

"The larva of the willow tree emperor moth, Gonimbrasia tyrrhea provided the Khoikhoi with a tasty meal. The Namaqua called it aroebe."

Gonimbrasia tyrrhea fifth instar, courtesy of Michal Pikner

Pupae are dark, stout, and have a short cremaster. This species can be induced to pupate in buckets lined with paper towelling.

Buckets should be placed in a dark, warm spot and larvae will crawl under towelling to pupate on the bottom of the bucket.

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.

Acacia karroo Acacia mollisima Crataegus Diospyros lycioides...... Prunus virginiana Prunus laurocerasus Pyrus malus Quercus Rhus laurina Salix

Karroo wattle Black wattle Hawthorn Ebony Chokecherry Kirschlorbeer Apple Oak Laurel sumac Willow

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For additional images, go to Hubert Mayer image

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.

Some of the early describers/namers chose genus and species names indicating some character of the insect, but more often, they simply chose names from Greek or Roman mythology or history.

Those species names which end in "ensis" indicate a specimen locale, and those which end in "i", pronounced "eye", honour a contempory friend/collector/etc.

The genus name "Imbrasia" comes from the Greek. It is another name for Hera, the sister and wife of Zeus and queen of heaven.

The species name "tyrrhea" is probably from Tyre, who was the Phoenician queen of the seas.