Pseudimbrasia deyrollii/deyrollei
sued-im-BRAY-see-uhMDAY-roll-eye
(Thomson, 1858) Saturnia

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei female 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: Pseudimbrasia, Rougeot, 1962

MIDI MUSIC Wind Beneath My Wings copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="wings.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

The Giant Emperor, Pseudimbrasia deyrollei (wingspan 15-19 cm) inhabits
Zimbabwe;
Angola;
Zambia: Copper Belt (WO?);
Tanzania;
Uganda; and most of Equatorial Africa, including
Burkina Faso (Rodolphe Rougerie).

Thierry Bouyer reports it also flies in
Malawi;
Democratric Republic of the Congo: Kasanga: Sakania (NV);
Congo: Ouesso (SA#8);
Gabon; and
Kenya.

I suspect it also flies in
Senegal: Fathala: Sine Saloum: 14 7 2010;
Guinea;
Ivory Coast: Adiopodoumé, Mokta, Mont Tonkoui (SCI);
Benin;
Togo: Kuma Kounda, Kpalimé, Togo, 6/2/2010;
Ghana (confirmed by Alan Marson);
Nigeria;
Cameroon: Centre Region: Yaounde (FL); Est region: Yokadouma (MC);
southern Central African Republic; and in
Rwanda; Burundi; and probably some other countries in western Africa.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei male, Yaounde, Cameroon,
Central Region, 6/8/2010, courtesy of Forbi Lucas.

Bouyer, 1999, equates deyrollei with Bunaea senegalensis Kirby, 1892; Bunaea congolensis Oberthur, 1910; Imbrasia gerresheimi Strand 1911; Imbrasia intermedia Strand, 1911; Pseudimbrasia colorata Rougeot, 1980.

Senegal and the Congo are implied by synonyms above. A series of People's Republic of the Congo postage stamps feature Pseudimbrasia deyrollei, Bunaea alcinoe, Imbrasia dione (dione is an unvailable name in Saturniidae, the species is I. petiveri) RO, Epiphora vacuna ploetzi, Imbrasia eblis and Holocera angulata.

I (Bill Oehlke) personally feel there is more than one species/subspecies depicted on this page. Perhaps Pseudimbrasia deyrollei colorata Rougeot, 1980, is now recognized as distinct from the nominate subspecies.

There is some question as to the proper spelling of deyrollii/deyrollei for the single species in this genus.

A few years ago, Rolf Oberprieler wrote me that the spelling should be deyrollii, probably based on the original descriptive paper title.

Thierry Bouyer (May 2006, pers. comm.) "In the original description, the title is "deyrollii", but it is dedicated to Deyrolle and the illustration is written with the correct spelling deyrollei. The name must be definitively deyrollei (art.35.2, ICNZ) as deyrollii is an obvious spelling error in the original name with the right spelling cited in the original paper."

It would seem the only reason for retaining "deyrollii" would be an intention by Rougeot to have this honourific name pronounced as day-ROLL-ee-eye instead of day-ROLL-eye. I do not know if such is the case. Hence, I will use deyrollei accompanied with the above explanation.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei male, Senegal,
courtesy of Alain Coache, some digital reconstruction by Bill Oehlke.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei male, Franceville, Gabon, August 19, 2006,
wingspan 175mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert, digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei male (verso), Franceville, Gabon,
August 19, 2006, wingspan 175mm, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei moths emerge from underground pupae at the beginning of the rainy season(s). They have been reported in February in Cameroon. Jean-Louis Albert reports them on the wing in August in Gabon, so there appears to be at least two broods annually, possibly more as Jean-Louis Albert also reports a mid October flight.

Michelle Constanza, via Antoinne Guyonnet, reports an April 4, 2011, flight in Yokadouma, Est Province, Cameroon.

Nigel Voaden confirms a January flight in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei male, Sakania, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
January 23, 2013, courtesy of Nigel Voaden.

Visit Pseudimbrasia deyrollei male and female, recto and verso, Franceville, Gabon, October 2009, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert.

SCI reports flights in Ivory Coast: Adiopodoumé (November), Mokta (June), Mont Tonkoui (March). I believe there is a February flight in Togo.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei male, Kuma Kounda, Kpalimé, Togo, 6/2/2010,
on my home computer only.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei male, Ghana,
courtesy of Jason Wright, via Alan Marson.

Larvae feed upon Euphoribiaceae, Moraceae, Rubiaceae, and Erythophloeum. Acacia mearnsii, Sapium ellipticum and Tamarindus indica are also listed as hosts.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei male courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Giant Emperor Moth females have more rounded and paler wings as well as stouter bodies and thinner antennae when compared with males. Females also have a spot on the forewings and very blunt hind wing "tails". At night, before flight, the female calls the male with an airbourne pheromone.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei, female, Elone (Sud), Cameroon,
February 17, 2006, courtesy of Sebastian Brandner.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are marbled with grey-brown glue and are probably deposited in clusters.

First instar larvae assume a snake like posture when disturbed.

Alan Marson indicates success rearing them on Crataegus.

Mature larvae descend hostplants and pupate in subterranean chambers. Eclosion usually occurs with the subsequent rainy season, but some pupae, which have very pointed cremasters, are reported to remain dormant for up to four years.

Images below are copyrighted and courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei eggs, courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei first instars, courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei second instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei second instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei second instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei third instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei third instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei third instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei third instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fourth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fourth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fourth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fourth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fourth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fourth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fifth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fifth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fifth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fifth instar on Crataegus, Ghana,
courtesy of Alan Marson.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei fifth instar courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

Pseudimbrasia deyrollei pupa, courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

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.

Crataegus (AM) Erythophloeum Euphoribiaceae Moraceae Rubiaceae Acacia mearnsii Sapium ellipticum....... Tamarindus indica

Hawthorn Red-water tree Eye-ball tree Moraceae Rubiaceae Black wattle Msasa Tamarind

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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.

"Imbrasia", according to Pinhey, 1972, is from the Latin 'imber' meaning rain. Flight, in many cases, may accompany the onset of the rainy season or moths may seem to prefer humid, misty or even rainy nights. Pseudimbrasia indicates the similarity of this moth to the genus Imbrasia.

The species name "deyrollei" is honourific for Achille Deyrolle (1813-1865), a lepidopterist and coleopterist (Pinhey, 1972).