Eudaemonia argus
you-day-MOH-nee-uhMAR-gus
(Fabricius, 1781) Bombyx

Eudaemonia argus (wingspan 52mm), Bobiri, Ashanti, Ghana, January 19, 2006,
N06*41.228 W001*20.645, 229 m., 28C., courtesy of Henrik Bloch,
identification confirmed by Thierry Bouyer, digitally repaired by Bill Oehlke.

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: Urotini, Packard, 1902 Genus: Eustera, Duncan (& Westwood), 1841) Genus: Eudaemonia, Hubner [1819] 1816

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DISTRIBUTION:

Eudaemonia argus (wingspan: approximately 48-52mm) flies from
Sierra Leone: Banana Island;
Ivory Coast: Adiopodoumé (November-December), Forêt du Banco (May, November) and Sans (November) SCI; to
Nigeria: Abuja (SB);
Cameroon, southwest Bipindi.

The NHM reports it from Banana Island of Sierra Leone, Ghana: Ashanti (HB);
Cameroon; and
Congo. Thierry Bouyer confirms it in Gabon: Haut-Ogooue: Franceville (JLA). I suspect it also flies in Liberia, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and PR Congo.

Eudaemonia argus male, courtesy of Kelly Price.

Eudaemonia argus male, courtesy of Kelly Price.

Eudaemonia argus, Benin, September 2, 2014,
via Alain Coache

The specimen from Benin is quite yellow, and forewing shape seems a bit different from other specimens on this page??? Bill Oehlke

Thierry Bouyer equates brachyura, uroarge, minor and uniocellata with Eudaemonia argus.

Eudaemonia argus, Gabon, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert

I am not positive regarding the identification of the above moth. It might be a light coloured Eudaemonia trogophylla.

Eudaemonia argus, Sierra Leone, January 24, 2012, courtesy of Keith Turnbull,
thanks to referral from Daniel Marlos of What's That Bug?

Keith Turnbull writes, "Snapped this photo this morning and have been unable to find the identification for this moth. The moth’s body was probably 4cm long while the tail was about 20cm long."

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

SCI reports them on the wing is Ivory Coast: Adiopodoumé (November-December), Forêt du Banco (May, November) and Sans (November).

Eudaemonia argus, Bobiri, Ghana, April 12, 2007, courtesy of Jon Baker.

Eudaemonia argus larvae feed upon Dialum guineense.

In Ghana moths are on the wing in January and probably in other months. Kelly Price has sent one with a flight time in June.

Eudaemonia argus female, Abuja, Nigeria,
March 2010, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

Dialum guineense....

Velvet tamarind

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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 "argus" comes from Greek mythology. Argus had many eyes and was all-knowing.

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