Key created by Beetledude and fine-tuned for iNat by Karoopixie
Preliminaries:
Excluded taxa: 1. Argema mimosae © @suncana | 2. Epiphora mythimna © @cathy_munro | 3. Pseudobunaea tyrrhena © @suncana
1a. Ground colour black (or dark red). Lateral row of large red or orange spiracles. Spines starkly white, sharp: a pair of dorsal white spines on each abdominal segment, plus one white spine on each flank. Large. Host plants Cussonia, Bauhinia, numerous other Fabaceae (trees), Celtis, Croton, Terminalia, etc | Cabbage Tree Emperor Bunaea alcinoe Bunaea alcinoe larvae photo by @colin25 |
1b. Ground colour green, only rarely yellowish or brownish; with four flattened, white or silvery spines dorsally and dorsolaterally. | go to 2. |
2a. Speckling (white or yellow) below lateral line, and sometimes above it. | go to 3. |
2b. No speckling above or below lateral line. | go to 4. |
3a. Body green, with broader or narrower, dark lateral stripe: blackish or magenta, usually with a pale band below, with some yellow spots. Fine speckling of white or yellowish below and/or above the lateral stripe. Four prominent, flattened white or silver spines on each segment (may be reduced or absent), usually tipped with yellow, sometimes tips are red with tufts of bristles. Spiracles purple or yellow or yellow-and-purple striped. Up to 90mm long. Host plants Colophospermum mopane, Schotia and numerous other leguminous trees Gynanisa maja larva photo by @suncana | Speckled Emperor Gynanisa maja Gynanisa maja larva photo by @wolfachim |
3b. Body green, without a dark lateral stripe (at most a darker lateral line). Each body segment with four prominent silver spines. Spiracles black. | go to 5. |
4a. Silver spines edged with magenta-red only at tip and at base. Host plants several Senegalia species | Marbled Emperor Heniocha marnois |
4b. Silver spines tipped with yellow. Host plants Vachellia karroo, other Vachellia species, also Australian Acacia species; and H. a. flavida on Elephantorrhiza. Heniocha apollonia apollonia photo by @rslhaupt | Southern Marbled Emperor Heniocha apollonia Heniocha apollonia flavida photo by @hermannstaude |
5a. Each spine is greenish, edged with silver and tipped with yellow. Faint pinkish bands between segments. Up to 70mm long. Host plants Peltophorum, Albizia. Aurivillius fuscus larva photo by @alexanderr | Cat's-eye Emperor Aurivillius fuscus Aurivillius fuscus larva photo by @botalex |
5b. Underside covered with fine yellow spots. Silver spines edged entirely with magenta-red. Up to 65 mm long. Host plants numerous Senegalia species Heniocha dyops larva photo by @wolfachim | Western Marbled Emperor Heniocha dyops Heniocha dyops larva photo by @andrew_hankey Heniocha dyops larva photo by @wolfachim |
Disclaimer: This key will work, but it is incomplete.
Sources:
LAMPE, R.E.J. 2010. Saturniidae of the World -- Pfauenspinner der Welt. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, Munich. 368 pp.
OBERPRIELER, R. 1995. The Emperor Moths of Namibia. Ekogilde c.c., Hartbeespoort, South Africa. 91 pp.
PINHEY, E. 1972. Emperor Moths of South and South Central Africa. C. Struik, Cape Town. 150 pp.
Hard work by @beetledude
Thank you very much to the photographers :-)
Comentarios
Congratulations to Riaan - becoming now also a cat-specialist!
Is this the best way to do it?
Can you please give me a list like this:
for each species:
Ground colour ! number of spines per segment ! shape of spines ! lateral stripe ! spine colour ! spine tip colour ! spiracle colour ! underside colour !
in as few words as possible.
I have completely redone the key to reflect more accurate information and to redo all the images due to having lost them when iNat changed servers.
I don't know if @ mentions work on a republished post, so I add all the photographers here just to be sure:
@suncana @wolfachim @alexanderr @botalex @cathy_munro @andrew_hankey @hermannstaude @rslhaupt @marisa117 @colin25
Thank you very much for your beautiful images!
It does work.
This is phenomenal, thank you!
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