Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) cytherea
nood-aur-REEL-ee-uhMsih-THER-ee-uh
(Fabricius, 1775) (Bombyx)

Nudaurelia cytherea male, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

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: Bunaeini, Packard, 1902 Genus: Nudaurelia, (Rothschild, 1895)

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DISTRIBUTION: The Pine Emperor, Nudaurelia cytherea or Imbrasia cytherea (wingspan: approximately 120-150mm), flies in South Africa. The larva is celebrated on a postage stamp from Uganda, perhaps recognizing it as an imported food rather than a local species.

Cooper and Cooper indicate this moth is the same as Nudaurelia clarki, but Rolf Oberprieler feels the two may be different species.

Cooper and Cooper also recommend the new genus name Montanaurelia indicating a more "montane" species with moths generally flying in habitats with elevations over 900m. They also propose moving the Nudaurelia with large forewing eyspots into Montanaurelia: cytherea, lucida, krucki, carnegiei, macrops and perhaps emini.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Both sexes are active at night in the wetter season. Imbrasia cytherea males come in to lights around midnight when females are scenting. Female antennae are narrower than those of the male.

Moths are on the wing from January until April and specimens have also been taken in October, suggesting two broods annually, although Cooper and Cooper indicate a univoltine species.

The following image, however, was reportedly taken on April 19, 2001.

Nudaurelia cytherea, Jeffreys Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa,
April 19, 2001, courtesy of Leoa, id by Bill Oehlke.

Nudaurelia cytherea courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Nudaurelia cytherea female, Africa, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Tightly adhering eggs are deposited in clusters of 10-30 on leaves or foodplant twigs. First instar larvae are leathery yellow and highly gregarious. As larvae develop they become more solitary and develop speckling and red tubercles. Pupation is in the soil inside the fifth instar larval skin. Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Nudaurelia cytherea, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Nudaurelia cytherea, fifth instar on privet, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) cytherea fifth instar, Betty's Bay, Western Cape, South Africa,
September 2010, courtesy of Weston Henry.

Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) cytherea, Betty's Bay, Western Cape, South Africa,
fifth instar on host, September 2010, courtesy of Weston Henry.

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.

Acacia cyanophylla Acacia cyclopsis Acacia mollissima Acacia saligna Cupressus macrocarpa Cydonia Crataegus Eucalyptus globulus Euclea daphnoides Euclea polyandra Euclea racemosa Leucospermum ellipticum...... Liriodendron tulipifera Malus domestica Myrica conifera Myrica cordifolia Myrsine melanophloeos Pinus Pinus sylvestris Pinus taeda Protea mellifera Protea mundii Psidium Pyrus communis Pyrus malus Quercus Rhamnus prunoides Rhus augustifolia Rhus crenata Rhus lucida Rhus tomentosa Watsonia iridifolia

Wattle Wattle Black wattle Weeping wattle Monterey cypress Cydonia Hawthorn Tasmanian Blue Gum Ebony Ebony Ebony Pincushion flower Tulip tree Apple Waxmyrtle Bayberry Rapanea Pinus Scotch pine Loblolly pine Sugarbush Sugarbush Guava Pear Apple Oak Buckthorn Bastard willow Bastard willow Bastard willow Bastard willow Bugle lily

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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 Nudaurelia means 'naked gold' (Pinhey).

The species name "cytherea", is an alternate name for Aphrodite. (Pinhey).