DISTRIBUTION:

The large, opalescent-white Ceranchia apollina moth flies in Madagascar. The specimen type is from Betsileo country.

Bouyer equates mangiferae, cribrelli, reticolens, mucida and cribricollis with apollina. Rodolphe Rougerie regards C. reticolens as a distinct species.

Yeray Monasterio has sent me a nice series of images of live Ceranchia apollina moths.

Ceranchia apollina male, courtesy of Jean-Yves Malmasson.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Larvae are reported to feed on Stephanotis floribunda (recently rejected) in the Asclepiadaceae family and Uapaca bojeri in the Euphorbiaceae family.

Uapaca bojeri Madagascar, courtesy of Kazuo Yamasaki.

Bob Vuattoux writes, December 15, 2005: "Some years ago I have found gregarious Ceranchia apollina larvae on a creeper in the Asclepiedaceae family in Morondava (West Madagascar). Here, in south of France larvae eat ornamental asclepiedaceae (Cynanchum acutum, and Gomphocarpus fruticosus) and a common herb called "dompte venin" (Vincetoxicum nigra).

Ceranchia apollina male courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

Rolf Oberprieler writes he has had some success on frangipani (Plumeria).

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING: Both males and females have black antennae, orangey-brown legs, an orange head and thoracic colar and an orange abdominal tuft. The female to the right, courtesy of Rolf Oberprieler, may whiten as she loses some of the browner scales.

Ceranchia apollina pairing, early afternoon, November 25, 2007,
courtesy of Mike Buczkowski.

Mike Buczkowski writes, November 25, 2007, "Bill, I had a female Ceranchia apollina hatch today about noon time, and, as soon as the wings were spread and before they were totally dried, she started calling. I happened to have a male, and soon they found each other. I am sending a photo of the mating and don't know if these facts are useful. The other males hatched early morning 7 to 8 am [5of them] and the other female hatched late morning about 11:30 am."

Moths with white or very light wing colour often also have black antennae, two very good indicators of daytime calling flight.

Ceranchia apollina (female), Madagascar, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE: Rolf Oberprieler has reared this species with limited success on a secondary, alternate host, frangipani (Plumeria). Bob Vuattoux reports larvae are gregarious. The first instar (right, courtesy of Rolf Oberprieler) is almost completely black. Rolf reports, "The pinkish-white bands appear in the second instar, and the larva then doesn’t change much in colour pattern."

The spiracular circles are positioned inside the dark bands and are not really noticeable in this third instar larva. The head, legs and scoli remain black through all instars.

This dorsal view of a fourth instar larva shows the same patterning. Possibly the markings indicate an insect that is unpalatable, but that is speculation on my part. The foodplants, however, contain toxins that apparently do not hurt the larvae, but are probably stored in the bodies of larvae and adult moths.

This lateral view of a fifth/final instar larva shows white at the base of the scoli, white spiracular rings and white markings below the spiracles. The head, legs and scoli remain black. Image courtesy of Rolf Oberprieler.

The cocoon is large (90mm), resembling a cecropia cocoon. A denser inner cocoon is visible through the soft outer meshwork of lustrous golden silk.

Rolf writes, "The cocoon is large but rather flimsy and soft, not hard as in Saturniini such as Argema.

Ceranchia apollina cocoon, courtesy of Alan Marson.

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. (Information from Yeray Monasterio, Jean-Yves Malmasson, Bob Vuattoux and Rolf Oberprieler)

Cynanchum acutum Gomphocarpus fruticosus Plumeria Stephanotis floribunda Uapaca bojeri Vincetoxicum nigrum/Cynanchum nigrum ........

Stranglewort Narrow-Leaf Cotton Bush Frangipani Jasmin de Madagascar/Bridal Wreath Tapia tree Black swallowwort/Dog-Strangling Vine

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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.

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.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Ceranchia" chosen by Butler in 1878.

The species name "apollina" is a feminine form of Apollo. In Greek mythology, Apollo was the god of medicine and healing who drove his fiery chariot (the sun) through the sky.

I had written, "This species may be diurnal or Butler may have chosen the species name for the 'light' colouration of this beautiful moth."

Yeray Monasterio writes, "The species wasn´t named C. apollina because of being diurnal or because of the light coloration of the adult. It was named apollina because it is really similar to Parnassius apollo, a very protected and beautiful European Papilionidae."

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