Micragone politzari
mye-kragh-GOHN-neemmpoh-LIT-zar-eye
Basquin, 1989

Micragone cana = Micragone politzari (male), Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

http://www.saturniidae-mundi.de/Oschayck/schayck.htm

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Saturniinae Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Micragonini Cockerell in Packard, 1914 (1902) Genus: Micragone, Walker, 1855

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

DISTRIBUTION:

The Micragone cana politzari moth flies in southwestern Burkina Faso: Bobo-Dioulasso, and in Cameroon.

It is now often elevated to full species status as Micragone politzari (Rougerie and J. Bouyer).

Rolf Oberprieler writes, this moth (M. cana) is "described from Mocambique and also occurs in South Africa (coastal Natal only) and in SE Congo (Shaba/Katanga) - recorded by Seydel 1939.

"There are probably other records in the literature, esp. by Rougeot.

Basquin, 1989 described a Micragone politzari from Burkina Faso, which was synonymised with cana by Bouyer (1995, I think). It's certainly similar to cana and Bouyer may be correct here, but I haven't yet checked this situation in detail. Your image from Cameroon would be of politzari rather than of true cana."

In Bouyer's 1999 Catalogue, Thierry indicates "M. cana politzari Basquin, 1989 is the subspecies of M. cana in Occidental Africa."

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This moth flies in February and again in October as two broods.

Micragone politzari larvae feed on an unknown host.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

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.

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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.

Micragone comes from the Greek words for a small contest, according to Pinhey.

The species name, 'politzari', is honourific for Politzar.