DECACHORDA OF THE WORLD

The Decachorda belong to the Tribe Micragonini of the Subfamily Saturniinae. These small moths with rounded wings fly in Africa. The males have very large antennae; the females have thin ones. Notice the slight projection on the eighth abdominal segment of the moth at top of this page. This prominent projection is typical of males of this genus.

The larvae are hairy, and, like Arctiid larvae, curl into a ball when disturbed. They feed on various grasses.

I suspect there are some errors with identifications in this section. I also suspect that some of the species listed below will be synonymized as the genus becomes better known.

In some of the individual species files, I have paraphrased the descriptions given by Pinhey in 1972 and have made personal comments on some of the moths depicted. The moth at the top of this page, identified by Kirby Wolfe as D. rosea, seems a better match for the species described by Pinhey as D. pomona. I am not aware of revisions on this genus.

P indicates an image is available.

Listing of DECACHORDA

P* aspersa Bouvier, 1927 Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo to west Africa
P* bouvieri Hering, 1929 northern Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, western Kenya
N congolana Bouvier, 1930 Congo; not recognized on BOLD
N conspersa Hampson, Africa; perhaps not valid or synonymized??
N fletcheri Rougeot, 1970 Ropp, Nigeria; ?? Cameroon
P* fulvia (Druce, 1886) Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, equatorial west Africa
P* inspersa Hampson, 1910 Democratic Republic of the Congo; Zimbabwe? = Rhodesia
N mombasina Stoneham, 1962 Kenya; not recognized on BOLD
N* orientalis Bouvier, 1930 Zimbabwe = Rhodesia; might be same as aspersa; BOLD treats it as a subspecies of aspersa
P* pomona (Weymer, 1892) Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Katanga/Shaba
P* rosea Aurivillius, 1898 Zimbabwe, Congo, Uganda; ? Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Katanga/Shaba and East Africa; ??? Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi
P* seydeli Rougeot, 1970 Democratic Republic of the Congo
N* talboti Bouvier, 1930 West Africa

N flaviliniaStoneham, 1962 Kenya; name unavailable

Decachorda ?? species ??, male, Katavi, Rukwa, Tanzania,
January 25, 2009, 925m, mixed woodland bordering grassy floodplain,
courtesy of David Bygott.

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