Heniocha marnois
hen-ee-OAK-uhMMAR-noh
(Rogenhofer, 1891) Saturnia

Heniocha marnois male courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelcom.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: Bunaeini, Packard, 1902 Genus: Heniocha, Hübner, [1819] 1816

MIDI MUSIC Wind Beneath My Wings copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="wings.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION: Heniocha marnois, The Marbled Emperor (wingspan: males: 65-84mm; females: 80-92mm), flies in East and Central Africa from the eastern Cape province through Natal and Transvaal, South Africa and Zimbabwe into Zambia: Central Province Kasanka N. P., south-western and southeasternDemocratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire): Kasanga: Sakania; and Tanzania. It is also possibly present in Botswana. Rolf Oberprieler confirms it for Namibia, and Thierry Bouyer confirms it for Malawi. The moth is also "recognized" on a Central Africa Republic Stamp, but the species depicted is probably H. apollonia. RO

Rolf Oberprieler writes, "The CAR stamp does not depict H. marnois (has hindwing eyespots, which occur in the apollonia group, not the dyops group!). It is possible that H. marnois still occurs in CAR, but there's another similar species up there, H. vingerhoedti, which appear to replace H. marnois in the north-west."

Heniocha marnois male, Kwazulu Natal Midlands, South Africa,
November 24, 2011, courtesy of Sue Bentley, Via Daniel Marlos of What's That Bug, id by Bill Oehlke

Heniocha marnois, Mpumalanga, South Africa,
January 25, 2012, courtesy of Jeni Ingram.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Philippe Darge reports a November flight in Zambia.

Nigel Voaden confirms an early December flight in Sakania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, very close to the border with Copper Belt in Zambia.

Heniocha marnois male, Sakania, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
December 1, 2013, courtesy of Nigel Voaden, id by Bill Oehlke.

Heniocha marnois larvae feed on Acacia mollissima (Black wattle), A. erubescens (Blue thorn), A. nigrescens (Knob thorn), A. mellifera (Black thorn), A. fleckii (Plate thorn), A. burkei (Black Monkey thorn) and A. polyacantha (White thorn), and, based on Sue Bentley's report, probably on Acacia sieberiana var. woodii (Paperbark Thorn).

Adults are on the wing in October-November and then again in February.

Heniocha marnois (female), Zaire, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Mating takes place at night and both sexes, the female being larger, come into lights.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in small rows of 6-10 on foodplant leaves. Larvae are at first gregarious becoming more solitary after the second instar when they begin hiding on the undersides of leaves and branches. Silvery spines provide excellent camouflage against a light sky. Lengths of 65 mm are achieved before larvae descend trees to pupate in soil.

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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.

In Greek mythology Heniocha is the daughter of Pittheus and the mother of Sciron.

Pinhey indicates the species name marnois means "struggling" in Greek.