''Argema mimosae'', the African moon moth, is a giant silk

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Saturniidae Saturniidae, commonly known as saturniids, is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species. The family contains some of the largest species of moths in the world. Notable members include the emperor moths, royal moths, and gi ...

. Similar in appearance to the giant Madagascan moon moth ('' Argema mittrei''), but smaller, this moth can be found widely in

Eastern Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and more locally in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

, including near the east coast of South Africa. The species was first described by

Jean Baptiste Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société entomol ...

in 1847. An adult can measure across its wingspan and from head to the tip of its elongated tail-like second pair of wings. Its forward wings have a distinctive grey-coloured "furry" leading edge, giving a very rough surface, presumably for aerodynamic reasons. Apart from the eye-like markings on its wings, the colouring and shape of the wings give the appearance of a piece of foliage, especially the tail-like structures of the rearmost wings which resemble a dried out leaf stem - presumably for camouflage in its natural environment.

Identification

It is emerald green with yellow and red eyespots on its wings. It has long hindwings, giving the appearance of tails. Larvae are green with thin white bands and rows of long projections on the back. The cocoons are silvery and pitted with small holes.

Biology

Larvae feed on corkwood (''

Commiphora The genus of the myrrhs, ''Commiphora'', is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout th ...

''), marula (''

Sclerocarya birrea ''Sclerocarya birrea'' ( grc, σκληρός , "hard", and , "nut", in reference to the stone inside the fleshy fruit), commonly known as the marula, is a medium-sized deciduous fruit-bearing tree, indigenous to the miombo woodlands of Sout ...

'') and tamboti (''

Spirostachys africana ''Spirostachys africana'' is a medium-sized (about tall) deciduous tree with a straight, clear trunk, occurring in the warmer parts of Southern Africa. Its wood is known as tamboti, tambotie, tambootie or tambuti. It prefers growing in single-s ...

'').

Habitat

In southern Africa, especially subtropical

bushveld The Bushveld (from af, bosveld, af, bos 'bush' and af, veld) is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. It encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of ...

, there are two broods per year. Image:Argema mimosae female sjh.jpg, Adult female Image:Argema mimosae male sjh.jpg, Adult male

References

Mimosae Moths described in 1847 Moths of Africa {{Saturniidae-stub