|
Updated as per Pinhey's Emperor Moths of South and South-Central Africa, 1972, April 29, 2006 Updated as per Bouyer's Catalogue of African Saturniidae, 1999, April 29, 2006 Updated as per Natural History Museum website, April 29, 2006 Updated as per reprints from Philippe Darge, July 2006 Updated as per personal communication with Sebastian Brandner, November 2006 Updated as per Butterflies and moths of Kakamega Forest, (Kenya, Congo, Tanzania, Uganda), Naumann in Kühne (2008); November 2010 |
TAXONOMY:Superfamily: Bombycoidea Latreille, 1802 |
"Moon River" |
Ludia orinoptena, male, October 20, 2006, wingspan 51mm,
Elone, Cameroon, courtesy of
Sebastian Brandner, id
by Thierry Bouyer.
Ludia orinoptena, male (verso), October 20, 2006, wingspan 51mm,
Elone, Cameroon, courtesy of
Sebastian Brandner, id
by Thierry Bouyer.
Ludia orinoptena larvae feed on Coleus, Lactuca, Mikania, Ocimum and Vernonia. It has also been reported on Gynura and Ocimum Mikania et al.
Ludia orinoptena male, Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck, id by Thierry Bouyer.
Ludia orinoptena female, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner, id by Thierry Bouyer
Ludia orinoptena female, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner, id by Thierry Bouyer
Larvae, developing to 6cm., are solitary through all stages and curl
up, exposing urticating spines, when disturbed.
Larvae descend the host plant at pupation time and spin up a thin
cocoon at the base of hostplants
Blumea alata |
Blumea alata |
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.
"Ludia" is from the Latin word for player
and may have been chosen for the erratic (playful), daytime flight of
the males.
The species name "orinoptena" is from the Greek and means "fluttering
wings" (Pinhey).