Pseudobunaea tyrrhena pratorum
soo-doh-BEWE-nay-uhMtye-REE-nuhMpragh-TOUR-uhm
Darge, 1999

Although sent to me a P. t. pratorum, the above moth is more likely P. illustris or P. alinda

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelcom.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: Pseudobunaea, Bouvier, 1927

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

Pseudobunaea tyrrhena pratorum male, Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck,
id by Thierry Bouyer.

DISTRIBUTION:

The Pseudobunaea tyrrhena pratorum moth (wingspan: males: 100-128mm; females: probably larger) flies in Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana (AM), Nigeria, Cameroon and the Republic of Central Africa. It might also fly in Guinea on Bioko Island.

This species has a range mostly north of P. t. neglecta, but it is generally smaller than that species, has more uniform colouration, and the hyaline spots in both the forewings and hindwings are smaller than in subspecies neglecta. Also the forewing outer margins are more concave in pratorum.

I have attempted to translate and paraphrase Darge's description of Pseudobunaea tyrrhena pratorum to see if the following three specimens from Ivory Coast, courtesy of Jiri Zabotrtsky meet the "criteria":

This subspecies is easily distinguished from neighboring forest species by its smaller wingspan, clearer, more uniform colouration, and smaller clear spots in the cell of the forewing and the hindwing.

The dorsal ground colour is pale yellow-orange, becoming more grey in the forewing median area and clear grey in the antemarginal area of all wings.

The lines are scalloped but less defined in the forest specimens.

The undersides are a clear greyish-yellow, with the lines and common markings more or less reduced and not as dark.

The moths are from the Comoe env., the Sassandra env., and the Niague env., respectively.

Pseudobunaea from Comoe env., Ivory Coast, courtesy of Jiri Zabokrtsky

Pseudobunaea from Sassandra env., Ivory Coast, courtesy of Jiri Zabokrtsky

Pseudobunaea from Niague env., Ivory Coast, courtesy of Jiri Zabokrtsky

Of the three sets of images above, only the last one from Niague env. seems a good match for Pseudobunaea tyrrhena pratorum. Despite the similar patterns on the ventral surface, the lines are weaker on the last image and the dorsal surface shows the most grey in the median and marginal areas. Outer margins are also straighter on both forewings and hindwings.

Thierry Bouyer, March 2006) indicates the two top images are most likely Pseudobunaea illustris or Pseudobunaea alinda.

Pseudobunaea tyrrhena pratorum male, Ghana,
courtesy of Jason Wright, via Alan Marson,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The Pseudobunaea tyrrhena pratorum moth flies in the months of March-April, June and August-September-October-November, suggesting at least three broods.

Pseudobunaea tyrrhena pratorum female, Cameroon, courtesy of Eric van Schayck,
id by Thierry Bouyer.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Eclosion is from underground pupae.

Both sexes fly at night with the males coming in to lights around midnight, the scenting time of the females.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

At maturity, larvae descend tree trunks and pupate in subterranean chambers.

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.

"Pseudobunaea" is derived from "pseudo" = false or like and Bunaea = "Hill Dwellers".

Many of these moths were placed, at one time, with Lobobunaea, but Pseudobunaea lack spines (present on Pseudobunaea tibia) on the legs, and the hindwing eyespot is grey and/or black without the coppery colour of the Lobobunaea.

The species name, tyrrhena, meaning winding river, is descriptive of the wavy lines on the forwings.

I do not know the reason for the subspecies name, pratorum which indicates 'of Prat'.

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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