Ludia orinoptena limbobrunnea
LOO-dee-uhM(or-in-op-TEE-nuh)Mlim-boh-BROO-nee-uh
Strand, 1911

Ludia limbobrunnea Malawi, Paul Jenkins

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Saturniinae Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Micragonini Cockerell in Packard, 1914 (1902) Genus: Ludia, Wallengren, 1865

MIDI MUSIC "Moon River" copyright C. Odenkirk ON.OFF <bgsound src="moon.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Ludia orinoptena limbobrunnea flies in
Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Ludia jordani female, 37mm, Bold.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Adults probably fly mid-December to mid-January where there are single generations.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Calling females successfully attract males in the early morning and late afternoon; thereafter females begin flying and ovipositing shortly after dusk. The day-flying males have a very rapid and erratic flight and are difficult to capture on the wing. Females come in to lights readily.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in single rows of 4-8 on the undersides of foliage.

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.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidaeor on various internet sites. 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 Brachylaena discolor Brachylaena rotundata Microglossa mesoiloides Robinia pseudoacacia Salvia runcinata Senecio deltoides Syringa vulgaris Tarchonanthus camphoratus..... Tarchonanthus minor Uapaca kirkiana Vernonia natalensis Vernonia oligocephala

Acacia Brachylaena discolor Brachylaena rotundata Microglossa Locust Sage Ragwort Lilac Wild camphor Tarchonanthus Wild loquat Ironweed Ironweed

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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.

"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). The subspecies name "limbobrunnea" means 'brown-edged' (Pinhey).