Tagoropsis sabulosa
Updated as per Pinhey's Emperor Moths of South and South-Central Africa, 1972, April 25, 2006
Updated as per Bouyer's Catalogue of African Saturniidae, 1999, April 25, 2006

Tagoropsis sabulosa
tagh-gor-OPS-ihsmmsagh-byou-LOH-suh
Rothschild, 1907

Tagoropsis sabulosa, Amani, Tanzania, courtesy of Teemu Klemetti.

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: Tagoropsis, R. Felder, 1874

MIDI MUSIC

"African Midi Music"

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

DISTRIBUTION:

The Tagoropsis sabulosa moth flies in Amani and Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, in Africa.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The specimen at the top of the page is from Kambai village, Dec. 22. 2004.

Tagoropsis sabulosa larvae probably feed on Allophyllus africanus, Allophylus melanocarpus, Allophylus subcoriaceus and Schmidelia africana.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:


Larval Food Plants


Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae and/or on various internet sites. 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.

Allophyllus africanus
Allophylus melanocarpus.....
Allophylus subcoriaceus
Schmidelia africana

Allophyllus africanus
Allophylus melanocarpus
Allophylus subcoriaceus
Schmidelia africana

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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 word Tagoropsis means a 'leading aspect', probably indicating ease of identification (Pinhey).

The species name, 'sabulosa', means 'grows in sandy places' or may refer to the 'sandy' colouration of this species.