Rohaniella pygmaea
roh-HAN-ee-el-luhmmPIG-may-uh
(Maassen & Weyding, 1885) Bunaea

Rohaniella pygmaea male, South Africa, courtesy of Joan Young.

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: Rohaniella, Bouvier, 1927

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

DISTRIBUTION:

Rohaniella pygmaea, The Pygmy Emperor (wingspan 60-70mm), is distributed from Quango and Transvaal in
South Africa through
Botswana and
Zimbabwe into central and eastern Africa. The species is occasionally taken in
Namibia. Rodolphe Rougerie reports it from
Burkina Faso.
BOLD Systems reports it from
Benin,
Burkina Faso,
Central African Republic,
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Malawi and
Mozambique.

The male below is from Burkina Faso and Rodolphe writes, "The difference between guineensis (= jebbae according to Bouyer) and the nominal pygmaea is supposed to be chiefly a difference in wing shape, the outer margin being convex in pygmaea and rather straight in guineensis; also the outer band of forewing is larger and darker in guineensis, and parallell to the outer margin.

"All of these characters, along with biogeography, would link my specimens from Burkina Faso to guineensis, but I prefer to stay cautious before naming them jebbae (because I have no argument at hand to support Bouyer's synonymy) or even guineensis because I have not sufficiently compared my specimens with those of other parts from Africa where the nominal form is supposed to fly. I'll do it before publishing the second part of my study on the saturniid fauna of Burkina... and I will then keep you informed.

"So... the question remains... is jebbae/guineensis a valid species/subspecies? I cannot reply right now, but I'll try to know more very soon while writing up my paper about the Bunaeini and Urotini from Burkina."

A Rohaniella specimen from Burkina Faso, courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The Pygmy Emperor Moth flies from October to November in Transvaal and in January and February in Namibia.

Rohaniella pygmaea larvae feed upon Wild Seringa.

Rohaniella pygmaea male, South Africa, courtesy of Joan Young.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

These night flying moths pair after dark and both sexes are attracted to lights. Males have broadly feathered antennae.

Rohaniella pygmaea courtesy of Frans Desmet,
Royal Museum for Central Africa , Tervuren, Belgium

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Pearly white, narrowly oval eggs are laid in small clusters of 2-4 on the undersides of foodplant leaves. Gregarious purple larvae in first two instars become solitary and green as they develop up to 50 mm in length. They are well camouflaged with a yellow lateral line on foliage-green bodies. Pupation is in the soil.

Larval Food Plants

Burkea seringa.....

Wild seringa

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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.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

The genus name Rohaniella possibly is honourific for a French statesman.

The species name "pygmaea" means 'small' and may refer to the overall size of the moth or to the tiny forewing cell spot.