DISTRIBUTION:

Gonimbrasia congolensis (wingspan: males: approx 110mm; females: probably larger) flies in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Congo: Ouesso (SA#8) and
northern Angola: Zaire: Soyo.

Gonimbrasia congolensis, Soyo, Angola, February 1, 2006,
courtesy of Jerome Teva Paire, id by Bill Oehlke, confirmed by Thierry Bouyer.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species is probably on the wing in April-May and possibly at other times.

Gonimbrasia congolensis larvae possibly ?? feed on Erythrophleum africanum, Julbernardia paniculata and Diplorhynchus condylocarpon.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Eclosion is from underground pupae.

Both sexes fly at night with the males coming in to lights around midnight, the scenting time of the females.

Gonimbrasia congolensis (verso), Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lepidoptera Types of the Royal Museum for Central Africa

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae pupate under soil near base of trees.

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing of suspected foodplants followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Erythrophleum africanum Julbernardia paniculata Diplorhynchus condylocarpon.......

Erythrophleum africanum Julbernardia paniculata Diplorhynchus condylocarpon

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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.

The genus name Gonimbrasia means "angled one liking rain" according to Pinhey.

The species name congolensis indicates a collection in Congo.