DISTRIBUTION: Imbrasia epimethea (wingspan: males: approx. 90-112mm; females: 120-132mm) flies in Ivory Coast: (Adiopodoumé (January, August, September, November, December) (SCI)); Sierra Leone; Ghana (AM); Zambia; Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire); Nigeria, the Central African Republic; and Cameroon: South West: Buea, Mt. Cameroon (FL); North West: Bamenda; Centre: Mbalmayo (AG), Ebogo (DM); Sud: Elone (SB); Est: Yokadouma (MC); Gabon: Haut-Ogooue: Franceville (JLA); and Togo. Julius Busingye reports it from Uganda. NiK (2008) reports it in Kenya: Kakamega Forest (NiK). It probably flies in other countries including PR Congo: Ouesso (confirmed in SA#8); Togo, Benin, Nigeria. Imbrasia epimethea, female, Cameroon, courtesy of Martin Jagelka.

In Thierry Bouyer's 1999 Catalogue of African Saturniidae, the following are listed as synonymous with Imbrasia epimethea:
nictitans (Fabricius, 1775) (Bombyx)
dorcas (Walker, 1855) (Bunaea); West Africa
pallescens Strand, 1915; Cameroon
crameri Kirby, 1892; West Africa
nadari Bouvier, 1928; Gabon
paradoxa Duffrane, 1953; Belgian Congo (Dem. Rep. Congo)

Imbrasia epimethea biokoensis Darge, 1988 is listed as a subspecies.

Imbrasia epimethea male (id by Thierrry Bouyer, April 2005) courtesy of Kirby Wolfe.

FLIGHT TIMES AND LARVAL HOSTS:

Philippe Darge reports them on the wing in Franceville, Gabon, from October until April.

They have been taken in Cameroon in June. Michelle Constanza via Antoine Guyonnet reports a December 25, 2010, flight in Mbalmayo, Centre Province, as well as a December 28, 2010, flight in Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroon. They are still or again flying in Yokadouma on February 9, 2011. Dave Marsden reports an October flight in Ebogo, Centre Province, Cameroon.

Imbrasia epimethea male, Ebogo, Centre Province, Cameroon,
October, 2012, 317m, courtesy of Dave Marsden.

Imbrasia epimethea male, Franceville, Gabon,
wingspan 112mm; October 12, 2006, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

Imbrasia epimethea male (verso), Franceville, Gabon,
wingspan 112mm; October 12, 2006, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

Imbrasia epimethea (TB) male, Mt. Cameroon, SW Region, Cameroon,
August 8, 2010, courtesy of Forbi Lucas, note slightly produced forewing apex.

Sebastian Brandner reports them from Elone (Sud Province), Cameroon, June 2006.

Jean-Louis Albert sends this image of an aberrant male.

Imbrasia epimethea, male (aberration), December 7, 2006,
courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert, Franceville, Gabon.

Imbrasia epimethea, male verso (aberration), December 7, 2006,
courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert, Franceville, Gabon.

Imbrasia epimethea larvae feed upon Acacia decurrens, Acacia lahai, Albizia, Berlinia, Brachystegia spiciformis, Canarium schweinfurthii, Holarrhena floribunda, Maesopsis eminii, Newtonia and Salix.

NiK (2008) reports it on Funtumia africana, Acacia et al.

Some males have an orangey-brown ground colour while others are much darker brown.

Imbrasia epimethea male courtesy of Frans Desmet,
Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium

Imbrasia epimethea (male), Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Imbrasia epimethea male, Ghana, ,
courtesy of Jason Wright, via Alan Marson.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Both sexes are active at night. Males (smaller than females) come in to lights around midnight when females are scenting.

Imbrasia epimethea (female), Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Imbrasia epimethea (female), Elone, Cameroon, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner.

Imbrasia epimethea female, Cameroon,
courtesy of Kelly Price

Based on the three images above, the size of the ocelli is quite variable, or more than one species is being displayed.

Visit Imbrasia epimethea female, recto and verso, Franceville, Gabon, October 12, 2007, wingspan 132mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

Visit Imbrasia epimethea female and males, Mbalmayo, Centre Province, Cameroon, December 25, 2010, and Imbrasia epimethea male, Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroon, December 28-29, 2010, courtesy of Antoine Guyonnet and Michelle Constanza.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE: Larvae 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.

At pupation time, and possibly also when moulting, larvae descend tree trunks en masse. Mature larvae are harvested by native people, and the larvae, in soups or dried, are an important human food source.

Parasitic wasps and flies also take a heavy toll on larvae, and predation by birds, lizards and other insects is probably high.

Imbrasia epimethea, descending on Holarrhena floribunda,
Bas Congo, central western Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Imbrasia epimethea, harvest,
Bas Congo, central western Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The hairs that cover most of the body are probably lost in late instar or are stripped by human hands during food preparation.

Imbrasia epimethea, fifth instars,
Bas Congo, central western Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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 decurrens Acacia lahai Albizia Berlinia Brachystegia spiciformis...... Canarium schweinfurthii Funtumia africana (NiK) Holarrhena floribunda Maesopsis eminii Newtonia Salix

Green wattle Red thorn Silk-tree/Mimosa Ekpogoi Mundu/Myombo/Mtondo African Canarium bastard wild rubber, bush rubber, Lagos rubber, male funtum Holarrhena floribunda Muhumula/Musira/Muhongera/Muguruka Newtonia Willow

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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.

"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.

Imbrasia epimethea female, 130mm, Gabon,
courtesy of Bill Garthe.