Maltagorea ornata
Updated as per Bouyer's Catalogue of African Saturniidae, 1999, 2004
Updated as per personal communication with Patrick Basquin, Madagascar; January 16, 2015

Maltagorea ornata
mal-tuh-GOR-ee-uhMor-NAY-tuh
(Griveaud, 1962) (Tagoropsis)

Maltagorea ornata male, Madagascar, 96mm, BOLD.

Maltagorea ornata male, Madagascar, courtesy of Patrick Basquin.

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: Urotini, Packard, 1902
Genus: Maltagorea, Bouyer, 1993

MIDI MUSIC

"African Midi Music"

ON.OFF
<bgsound src="Dafrican.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Maltagorea ornata (wingspan: males: 96-110m; females: 100mm) flies in
Madagascar: Central Madagascar, Ambalavao, Andrngitra, Anjavidilava; at elevations of 1030 m..

Maltagorea ornata male, Madagascar, 110mm, BOLD.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in January, and probably in other months. Maltagorea ornata larval hosts are unknown.

Maltagorea ornata female, Madagascar, 110mm, BOLD.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females emit an airbourne pheromone and males track the scent with their antennae by flying in a zigzag pattern into the wind.

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.

The genus name Maltagorea is a contraction of the Malagassy branch of the Tagoropsis / Pseudantherea group.

Mal from Malagassy Republic (Madagascar);
tago from Tagoropsis:
rea from Pseudantherea

The species name oranta probably refers to an ornate colour mix or pattern.