|
|
Updated as per Bouyer's Catalogue of African Saturniidae, 1999, April 25, 2006 Updated as per Natural History Museum website, April 27, 2006 Updated as per personal communication with Thierry Bouyer, May, 2006 Updated as per personal communication with Minetti Robert, January 25, 2007 Updated as per personal communication with Andreas Riekert (eastern Tanzania): December 26, 2010 Updated as per All Leps, January 15, 2014 |
Parusta xanthops male, eastern Tanzania, courtesy of Andreas Riekert.
TAXONOMY:Superfamily: Bombycoidea Latreille, 1802 |
"African Midi Music" |
Thierry Bouyer indicates it probably also flies in
Kenya.
Minetti Robert reports them from the Ruaha National Parc, Iringa Region, at 912m in Tanzania, taken on December 06, 2006.
I am not sure if this report is a confirmation of xanthops or thelxinoe as there was some confusion in earlier postings.
I think (am not sure) that xanthops flies west of the eastern most mountains in Tanzania and Kenya, and that thelxinoe flies on the
eastern slopes of those same mountains, northward into eastern Ethiopia.
Parusta xanthops has much more white in the post median areas of all wings when compared to the darker, greyer, similar but slightly larger species,
Parusta thelxinoe. The prevalence of white in the marginal areas is also evident on the ventral surfaces of both males and females
Parusta xanthops female, verso, on my home computer only.
Parusta thelxinoe male (darker species), verso, on my home computer only.
Parusta xanthops male, 50mm, on my home computer only.
Parusta xanthops female, eastern Tanzania, courtesy of Andreas Riekert.
Parusta xanthops female, 50mm, on my home computer only.
FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:
Parusta xanthops adults probably?? fly in December (confirmed for December)-January-February.
Parusta xanthops (male), from Thierry Bouyer's
Catalogue of African Saturniidae 1999
ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:
EGGS, LARVAE 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.
Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.
The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion.
There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.
The species name "xanthops" means yellowish and may refer to the rings of the eyespots or the yellowish cast to the wings.