Lobobunaea phaedusa
loh-boh-BEWE-nay-uhmmfay-DOO-suh
(Drury, 1780) (Phalaena (Attacus))

Lobobunaea phaedusa #0005, male, Gabon, courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

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: Lobobunaea, Packard, 1901

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DISTRIBUTION:

Lobobunaea phaedusa, The Blotched Emperor (wingspan 155-200 mm), flies in West Africa throughout the equatorial zone. Felix Stumpf reports it from Ivory Coast: Adiopodoumé (SCI); Eric van Schayck reports it from Sierra Leone. It is probably also present in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, and possibly further west than Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. It is also reported from Cameroon: Sud Province: Elone (SB); Centre Province: Yaounde (FL); Est Province: Yokadouma (MC); Gabon: Ogooue-Maritime (JTP), Ogooue-Ivindo: La Lope National Park (TD), Haut-Ogooue: Franceville (JLA); Congo-Brazzaville; D.R. Congo: Bas Congo; Rwanda; and Tanzania. I suspect (no confirmation) it may also be found in Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. Lobobunaea phaedusa female, Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroon, March 28, 2011, courtesy of Michelle Constanza, via Antoine Guyonnet. Lobobunaea phaedusa female (verso), Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroon, March 28, 2011, courtesy of Michelle Constanza, via Antoine Guyonnet. Lobobunaea phaedusa female (antennae), Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroon, March 28, 2011, courtesy of Michelle Constanza, via Antoine Guyonnet. Ground colour varies from an ochrous-brown to a bluish-brown colour. In Rwanda the moth is featured on a postage stamp.

Thierry Bouyer equates Lobobunaea phaedusa with Lobobunaea elegans.

Visit beautiful images of Lobobunaea phaedusa male, female (verso) and fifth instar larva, La Lope National Park, Ogooue-Ivindo, Gabon, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Lobobunaea elegans # 0006, female, Sierra Leone, courtesy of Eric van Schayck

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Lobobunaea phaedusa moths are on the wing in January, February, March through May. Jean-Louis Albert has sent images (recto and verso) of a Lobobunaea phaedusa male, taken in September in Franceville, Gabon, as well as a Lobobunaea phaedusa male, taken in December from the same locale, and another Lobobunaea phaedusa male (recto and verso images), taken November 25, 2008.

Forbi Lucas has sent an image taken in Yaounde, Centre Region, Cameroon in August.

Lobobunaea phaedusa male, Yaounde, central Cameroon,
6/8/2010, (probably L. phaedusa), courtesy of Forbi Lucas,
scan and id by Bill Oehlke, confirmed by Thierry Bouyer

SCI reports Lobobunaea phaedusa in Adiopodoumé (March, September, November-December), Ivory Coast. I suspect there are at least three annual broods in most areas.

Larvae probably feed on species of Rhus, Acocanthera, Uapaca, Eugenia, Eucalyptus, etc. Thibaud Decaens has successfully reared this species on Eucalyptus rotundifolia. There are reports of them being found in the wild on Annona senegalensis in Bas Congo, central western Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Lobobunaea phaedusa, female, Elone (Sud), Cameroon,
February 17, 2006, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner.

Lobobunaea phaedusa, female, Brazzaville-Congo,
December 6, 1993, Wingspan: 171 mm.

Lobobunaea phaedusa, female (verso), Brazzaville-Congo,
December 6, 1993, Wingspan: 171 mm.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Blotched emperor females have larger bodies, finer antennae, and more rounded wings than males.

Lobobunaea phaedusa # 0007, female

Lobobunaea phaedusa # 0008, male

Lobobunaea elegans # 0009, male, Sierra Leone, courtesy of Eric van Schayck

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae are primarily green, resembling various Actias and Antheraea species. Larvae are chunky with ridged segments. When disturbed or at rest, the head and legs are usually pulled back into the thorax. Images courtesy of Leroy Simon. At maturity, larvae descend tree trunks to pupate in subterranean chambers.

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.

Annona senegalensis Eucalyptus rotundifolia ....... (TD) Euphorbiaceae.....

Africa Custard Apple Eucalyptus rotundifolia ....... (TD) Eye-ball tree

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 phaedusa means "shining" in Greek, and may have been chosen to recognize the bright rings around the hindwing ocellus.

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