DISTRIBUTION:

The White-ringed Atlas, Epiphora mythimnia (wingspan: 105-130mm), flies in
South Africa: Natal;
Swaziland: Mpisi;
Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Pinhey, 1972, also reports it from Zambia and Mozambique northwards to Kenya, thus including Tanzania and Malawi.

July 1, 2004, Rolf Oberprieler writes, "E. mythimnia is a southern species, extending from eastern South Africa (Natal) along the eastern side of Africa (just getting into eastern Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia) through Malawi, Tanzania, Shaba (DR Congo) into southern Kenya and Uganda."

The more northerly countries listed above might have mythimnia, but I think it is more likely that in Malawi they have Epiphora acuta, in Tanzania they have Epiphora eugeniae, Epiphora leae and Epiphora vicina, with the latter extending into southeastern Kenya. My comments are based on the recently (2012) described mythimnia like species described by Philippe Darge.

The males have elongate, rounded-falcate forewings with large hyaline spots (elliptical on forewing; round on hindwing).

The antennae and legs are orange in contrast to the much darker, reddish-brown ground colour.

Cooper and Cooper report it primarily as a coastal species at elevations up to 1500m near evergreen forests.

Descriptions in the third column apply to males.

Epiphora mythimnia Group Comparison Chart

Epiphora mythimnia male Epiph. mythimnia female S.A.: Natal; Swaziland wh pml thick on all wings; rectangular wh bar to cell base; 90 d upturn; heavy white suffusion in pm area Epiphora vicina male Tanga R.; Morogoro R. Epiph. vicina female Pwani R.; Iringa R. Tanzania S.E. Kenya ?? whispy upper half to white fw pml; white bar ends before cell; no white upturn; wide dark zone in pm area Epiphora leae male Morogoro Region Epiph. leae female Kilamanjaro Region Tanzania S. E. Kenya?? Epiphora acuta male Epiph. acuta female Malawi: Mulanje whispy white fw pml turns in at almost 90d near costa; narrow, pointed basal bar ends before neeting ocellus broad apical production Epiphora eugeniae male Epiph. eugeniae female female unknown possibly?? the male forewing inner margin is slightly concave Tanzania: Rukwa Region large; dark; pm line distinct, not so deeply curved; basal white bar does not reach cell hyaline areas large on all wings

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There are two broods with moths on the wing January-March and September-December in southern portions of its range.

Epiphora mythimnia larvae feed on Ziziphus mucronata and Croton sylvaticus. Kirby Wolfe has had good results on Ceanothus.

Epiphora mythimnia female, South Africa, copyright Kirby Wolfe

Epiphora mythimnia female, Mpisi, Swaziland,
on my home computer only.

Epiphora mythimnia female (verso), Mpisi, Swaziland,
on my home computer only.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Epiphora mythimnia females extend a scent gland from the posterior tip of the abdomen to call in the night-flying males.The pair remains coupled until the following evening.

The wings of the female are more rounded than those of the male.

Photo courtesy of Chris Conlan.

Epiphora mythimnia possibly vicina female, Kenya, courtesy of Dr. Anatolij Kulak.

Epiphora mythimnia possibly vicina female, Kenya, courtesy of Dr. Anatolij Kulak.

Epiphora mythimnia male possibly vicina , Kenya, courtesy of Dr. Anatolij Kulak.

Epiphora mythimnia possibly vicina fifth instar on Frangula alnus, Kenya, courtesy of Dr. Anatolij Kulak.

Epiphora mythimnia possibly vicina fifth instar on Frangula alnus, Kenya, courtesy of Dr. Anatolij Kulak.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Small, white, oval eggs are deposited in clusters of ten to twenty on foliage. Incubation lasts ten to twelve days.

Larvae feed for about 35-40 days and then the non-diapausing pupae result in moths emerging about one month later.

Epiphora mythimnia cycle, courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

Jurgen Vanhoudt sends the following images of Epiphora mythimnia larvae being reared on Ceanothus.

Epiphora mythimnia first instar on Ceanothus,
courtesy of Jurgen Vanhoudt.

Epiphora mythimnia second instar on Ceanothus,
courtesy of Jurgen Vanhoudt.

Alan Marson is rearing this species on Ceanothus and sends the fourth instar image below.

Larvae are lime green in the final instar, with yellow tubercles, and the front six tubercles are bright blue.

Epiphora mythimnia larva on Croton sylvaticus courtesy of Pierre le Roux.

The thin, copper-coloured cocoon is affixed to foliage or to twigs by strong silk threads.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae and/or on various internet sites or personal communication (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.

Ceanothus Croton gratissimus Croton sylvaticus Fernandoa magnifica Frangula alnus Helinus ovatus Rhamnus frangula Ziziphus mauritiana..... Ziziphus mucronata

Ceanothus Croton Croton Muauwa Buckthorn Helinus Alder buckthorn Jujube Catch thorn

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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.

"Epiphora" is a medical condition of insufficient drainage of the tear film from the eyes. The eyes are often watery, lids inflamed and crusted. I do not know the the reason(s) for the choice of Epiphora as the genus name, but perhaps the large hyaline areas on the wings of mythimnia (specimen type) with the thick white and yellow borders, were suggestive of watery, encrusted eyes.

I do not know the meaning of or the reason for the species name "mythimnia".