DISTRIBUTION: The Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis moth (wingspan: males: approx. 90-128mm; females: 120-137mm) flies in Bioko Island of Equatorial Guinea. Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis male, 115mm, Bioko Island, on my home computer only. FLIGHT TIMES AND LARVAL HOSTS: This speceis probably?? flies from October until April. They may?? also fly in June. Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis male, 121mm, Bioko Island, on my home computer only. Imbrasia epimethea larvae probably ?? feed upon Acacia decurrens, Acacia lahai, Albizia, Berlinia, Brachystegia spiciformis, Canarium schweinfurthii, Holarrhena floribunda, Maesopsis eminii, Newtonia and Salix. ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING: Both sexes are active at night. Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis female, 137mm, Bioko Island, on my home computer only. EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE: Larvae probably eat Green wattle, Red thorn, Silk-tree/Mimosa, Ekpogoi, Mundu/Myombo/Mtondo, African Canarium, Holarrhena floribunda, Muhumula/Musira/Muhongera/Muguruka, Newtonia and Willow. Pupation is in the soil in a subterranean chamber. Larval Food Plants It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the probable ?? foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile. Acacia decurrens Acacia lahai Albizia Berlinia Brachystegia spiciformis...... Canarium schweinfurthii Holarrhena floribunda Maesopsis eminii Newtonia Salix Green wattle Red thorn Silk-tree/Mimosa Ekpogoi Mundu/Myombo/Mtondo African Canarium Holarrhena floribunda Muhumula/Musira/Muhongera/Muguruka Newtonia Willow Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page. Return to Imbrasia Index Return to Main Index 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. "Imbrasia", according to Pinhey, 1972, is from the Latin 'imber' meaning rain. Flight, in many cases, may accompany the onset of the rainy season or moths may seem to prefer humid, misty or even rainy nights. The species name "epimethea" probably comes from Greek mythology, where Epimetheus ("hindsight", literally "hind-thought") was the brother of Prometheus ("foresight", literally "fore-thought"), a pair of Titans who "acted as representatives of mankind". They were the inseparable sons of Iapetus, who in other contexts was the father of Atlas. The subspecies name "biokoensis" indicates a range on Bioko Island of Equatorial Guinea.