DISTRIBUTION:

Lobobunaea goodii (forewing length: approximately 64-68mm // wingspan: males: 85-120mm; females: 108-140mm) flies in
Cameroon: Sud Province: Elone (SB); Est Province: Yokadouma (AG); and "Ogowa" -NHM (along the Ogowe River),
Gabon: Ogooue-Ivindo: La Lope (TD); Haut-Ogooue: Franceville (JLA).

Pinhey indicates a range throughout tropical east and west Africa.

Thierry Bouyer confirms it in
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and indicates he suspects it may fly in Tanzania.

Philippe Darge reports it in Central African republic: Sangha: Ndoki PN.

SCI reports it in
Ivory Coast: Adiopodoumé (January, November), Dam Ayamé (January, May). It probably also flies in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and possibly west of Ivory Coast.

Philippe Darge reports it in Congo Brazzaville: Ouesso.

L. erythrotes (Karsch, 1892) flies in Zambia (according to Pinhey, 1972), and Thierry Bouyer, 1999, equates erythrotes with goodii. I suspect it is also in People's Republic of the Congo and probably in northeastern Angola and probably in southwestern Republic of Central Africa.

Lobobunaea goodii male, Cameroon, courtesy of Jiri Zabokrtsky, id by Bill Oehlke.

Lobobunaea goodii male, Bomane, Lower Aruwimi, democratic Republic of the Congo,
May 20, 2010, courtesy of K D Dijkstra, id by Bill Oehlke.

This moth seems very similar to Lobobunaea acetes, but L. goodii seems to have a straighter forewing outer margin, and a forewing less wide near the apex. The basal and median areas of the forewings are also darker than in L. acetes. On the hindwing, the dark band seems to rise as it approaches the body.

Males have a very small forewing cell spot and the lighter shading on the outside of the pm line runs from the apex to the inner margin. There is also some white scaling on the outside of the am line.

Lobobunaea goodii, male courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Lobobunaea goodii moths are on the wing in February and possibly in other months. They have been taken in both Cameroon and Gabon in August, and Michelle Constanza, via Antoine Guyonnet, reports an April flight in Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroon.

.

SCI reports them on the wing in January, May and November in Ivory Coast.

Thibaud Decaens reports success rearing them on Eucalyptus rotondifolia.

Lobobunea goodii female courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Lobobunea goodii female, Elone, Cameroon (Sud Province),
February 2006, wingspan: 118mm, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner, id by Bill Oehlke.

Lobobunea goodii female, Elone, Cameroon (Sud Province),
February 2006, wingspan: 118mm, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner, id by Bill Oehlke.

Lobobunaea goodii female, Franceville, Gabon,
August 11, 2006, wingspan 135mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert, id by Thierry Bouyer.

Lobobunaea goodii female (verso), Franceville, Gabon,
August 11, 2006, wingspan 135mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

Lobobunea goodii male courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Lobobunaea goodii male, Franceville, Gabon, August 25, 2006,
wingspan 111mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert, id by Bill Oehlke.

Lobobunaea goodii male (verso), Franceville, Gabon, August 25, 2006,
wingspan 111mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert, id by Bill Oehlke.

I have identified the male from Franceville, Gabon, as L. goodii due to dark ground colour and rosy patch on ventral surface of the forewing.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Lobobunaea goodii females attract males with an airbourne pheromone.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Females deposit eggs at night on hostplant foliage. Larvae feed and mature in approximately six weeks. At maturity, the larvae leave the host plant to pupate in subterranean chambers.

Thibaud Decaens writes, "Larvae of Lobobunaea pupate into the soil. I usually place them on humid humus as soon as they start their dispersion phase (their colour change and they start to walk, looking for a good place to pupate). When larvae enter their pre-nymphal phase, I place them on the surface of a box filled with humid humus until they pupate. Then I periodically humidify the humus, and emergence of adults usually occurs about 1-2 months after pupation (well, that was the case for L. phaedusa and L. goodii)."

Lobobunaea goodii fifth instar, La Lope National Park, Ogooue-Ivindo, Gabon,
reared on Eucalyptus rotundifolia, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Visit Lobobunaea goodii, male, female, in copula, larva, La Lope National Park, Ogooue-Ivindo, Gabon, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

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.

Eucalyptus rotundifolia ....... (TD)

Eucalyptus rotundifolia

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.

The genus name Lobobunaea, is from the Greek and refers to a lobed hill-dweller. The genus specimen type is Lobobunaea phaedusa, males of which have a valve with a subapical lobe. The hindwings are also lobed at the anal angle. It may also be a montane species.

The species name goodii is honourific for the collector, Reverend A. I. Good, who is noted for his work in west Africa.

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