DISTRIBUTION:

Eudaemonia argiphontes (wingspan: males: approx. 63mm; females??) flies in Africa, quite commonly in
Cameroon. The Natural History Museum reports it from
Sierra Leone, and Rodolphe Rougerie reports it from
Gabon: Ogooue-Maritime Province: Rqabi (JTP), and Haut-Ogooue Province: Moanda (JLA); so it probably flies in all countries in between those listed.

Thierry Bouyer confirms it from
Democratic Republic of the Congo
and Gabon. It probably also flies in
Liberia;
Ivory Coast: Azaguie (August), Lamto (April) (SCI);
Ghana, Togo;
Benin, Nigeria and
People's Republic of the Congo.

The genus Eustera is the same as Eudaemonia. Thierry Bouyer equates E. batesi (Cameroon by NHM) and E. barnsi (Democratic Republic of the Congo by NHM) with Eudaemonia argiphontes.

Eudaemonia argiphontes courtesy of Alain Van Vyve

This species is a dark brown, and the forewing pm line is almost straight as opposed to very convex as in other species. The forewing eye spots are 'killed' or greatly diminished, relatively speaking.

The tails also seem to be quite long (more than twice, almost three times the wingspan, maybe more) in this species.

Eudaemonia argiphontes male, Moanda, Haut-Ogooue, Gabon,
wingspan: 63mm, October 3, 2010, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert,
id confirmation and digital repair by Bill Oehlke

Eudaemonia argiphontes male, Moanda, Haut-Ogooue, Gabon,
wingspan: 63mm, October 3, 2010, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Jerome Teva Paire reports it on the wing in November in Rqabi (Ogooue-Maritime Province), Gabon. Jean-Louis Albert reports an October flight in Moanda (Haut-Ogooue Province), Gabon, about 60km west of Franceville.

SCI reports it on the wing in April (Lamto) and August (Azaguie) in Ivory Coast.

Larvae feed upon Albizia.

Eudaemonia argiphontes, Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the posterior tip of the abdomen to call in males.

Eudaemonia argiphontes male (verso), Moanda, Haut-Ogooue, Gabon,
wingspan: 63mm, October 3, 2010, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert,
id confirmation and digital repair by Bill Oehlke

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

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.

Albizia......

Silktree or Rain tree

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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 species name "argiphontes" comes from Greek mythology. Hermes is called Argiphontes, for having killed the All-seeing Argus 1. (Argus had many eyes and was all-knowing; phontes means 'killer')

The genus name, Eudaemonia, means "a state of well being". (Pinhey, 1972)