Gynanisa maja (Klug, 1836) * COMMON NAME(S): Saturniid. Edible caterpillar (At least in Zambia). SYNONYM(S): Saturnia isis Westwood, 1841; Saturnia campionea Signoret, 1845; Anacalaespina tata Wallengren, 1858; Attacus campiona Girard, 1882; Gynanisa macromaja Strand, 1920c. IUCN STATUS: Not Evaluated (NE). DISTRIBUTION: Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. LOCALITY IN ZAMBIA: Kopa** and Mpika, in Muchinga Province; Mporokoso and Kasama, in Northern Province; Serenje, in Central Province; A locality in Southern Province [Latitude, - 15.30687S; Longitude, 26.01835E]. LARVAL HOSTPLANT(S): Host plants of the taxon include: four Fabaceae species (Vachellia karroo (Hayne) Banfi & Galasso; A. pubescens (Vent.) R.Br., A. mearnsii De Wild. and Acacia sp.) and two Mimosaceae species (Elephantorrhiza elephantina (Burch.) Skeels and another Elephantorhiza sp.) in South Africa (Fawcett 1901; Taylor 1949; Pinhey 1972b; van den Berg 1974; Prinsloo & Uys, 2015); one Fabaceae species (Acacia pubescens (Vent.) R.Br.) in Kenya (Gardner 1957); one Fabaceae species (Acacia erioloba E.Mey.) and one Caesalpiniaceae species (Colophospermum mopane (Benth.) Leonard) in Namibia (Oberprieler 1995) and one Caesalpiniaceae species (Brachystegia venosa Hutch. & Burtt Davy) in an unnamed country or region in Africa (Rougeot 1962). Host plants of the taxon in Zambia include Julbernardia paniculata (Benth.) Troupin (Mbata et al. 2002). SOURCES: African Moths 2019; De Prins & De Prins 2022; Fawcett 1901; Gardner 1957; Hampson 1910c; Malaisse 1997; Mbata et al. 2002; Oberprieler 1995; Pinhey 1972b; Prinsloo & Uys 2015; Rougeot 1962; Scan-bugs Organization 2019a; Taylor 1949; van den Berg 1974.

Published as part of Mbata, Keith J. & Prins, Jurate De, 2023, Annotated checklist of moths of Zambia (Insecta: Lepidoptera), pp. 1-503 in Zootaxa 5354 (1) on page 163, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5354.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10130434