Gonimbrasia tyrrhea ( Cramer, 1775 )

Mbata, Keith J. & Prins, Jurate De, 2023, Annotated checklist of moths of Zambia (Insecta: Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 5354 (1), pp. 1-503 : 161

Gonimbrasia tyrrhea ( Cramer, 1775)

COMMON NAME (S): Zigzag Emperor or Zig-Zag Silkmoth. SYNONYM(S): Nudaurelia rubrescens Rebel, 1931 . IUCN STATUS: Not Evaluated (NE). DISTRIBUTION: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia , Republic of Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

LOCALITY IN ZAMBIA: Kopa and Mpika in Muchinga Province ; Serenje in Central Province; Kasama and Mporokoso in Northern Province.

LARVAL HOSTPLANT(S): Host plants of the taxon include: three Fabaceae species ( Acacia pubescens (Vent.) R.Br. , Vachellia karroo (Hayne) Banfi & Galasso and A. mearnsii De Wild. ), two Phyllanthaceae species ( Uapaca kirkiana M̧ll.

Arg.and U. nitida M̧ll.Arg.), one Ebenaceae species ( Diospyros lycioides Desf. ), one Anacardiaceae species ( Schinus mole L. ), one Salicaceae species ( Salix babylonica L.) and one Myrtaceae species

( Eucalyptus sp. ) in South Africa; two Pinaceae species ( Pinus radiata D.Don and P. patula Schiede ex

Schltdl. & Cham.), one Fabaceae species ( Acacia mearnsii De Wild. ) and one Anacardiaceae species

( Schinus mole L. ) in Kenya ; one Fabaceae species ( Vachellia karroo (Hayne) Banfi & Galasso ), one

Ebenaceae species ( Euclea pseudebenus E.Mey. ex A.DC. ) and one Anacardiaceae species ( Ozoroa concolor (C.Presl ex Sond.) De Winter ) in Namibia . No larval foodplants of the taxon have been reported in Zambia.

Without mentioning names of countries in Africa where they are found, the African Moths (2019) website lists the following as larval foodplants of the taxon: two Phyllanthaceae species, Uapaca kirkiana M̧ll.Arg. and Uapaca nitida M̧ll.Arg.; four Fabaceae species, Acacia mearnsi , Acacia caffra , Acacia mollissima and Acacia karoo ; two Ebenaceae species, Euclea pseudebenus E.Mey. ex A.DC. and Diospyros lycioides Desf. ; two Myrtaceae species, Eucalyptus viminalis Labill. and Eucalyptus globulus Labill. ; three Anacardiaceae species, Malosma laurina (Nutt.) Nutt. ex Abrams , Schinus molle L. and Ozoroa concolor (C.Presl ex Sond.) De Winter ; two Rosaceae species, Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. and Crataegus sp. ; two Pinaceae species, Pinus patula Schiede ex Schltdl. & Cham. and P. radiata D.Don and; two Salicaceae species, Populus×canescens (Aiton) Sm. [grey poplar] and Salix babylonica L..

A wasp in the family Eupelmidae , namely, Mesocomys pulchriceps Cameron , is a parasitoid of the taxon in South Africa ( van den Berg 1970).

SOURCES: African Moths 2019; Austara & Jones 1971; De Prins & De Prins 2022; Gardner 1957; Oberprieler 1995; Pinhey 1972b; Prinsloo & Uys 2015; Saturniidae of the World 2019; van den Berg 1970.