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Usta terpsichore, the cavorting emperor, is a species of moth in the family Saturniidae. It is found in Angola, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[1]

Usta terpsichore
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Saturniidae
Genus:	Usta
Species:	U. terpsichore
Binomial name
Usta terpsichore (Maassen & Weymer, 1885)
Synonyms
Saturnia terpsichore Maassen & Weymer, 1885 Heniocha abyssinica Aurivillius, 1898 Usta yaere Darge, 1994

The larvae feed on Commiphora caryaefolia, Sclerocarya caffra, Melia azedarach and Schinus molle. Fully grown larvae are about 80 mm long.

The larvae are used as food by locals. They are rich in iron, copper, zinc, thiamine and riboflavin. It is also relatively high in calcium and phosphorus compared to many insects.[2]

Subspecies

Some sources list a number of subspecies, while others treat most of these as full species and/or synonyms:

• Usta terpsichore subangulata Bouvier, 1930 (mostly treated as a full species)
• Usta terpsichore grantae Terral & Lequeux, 1991 (mostly treated as a full species)
• Usta terpsichore alba Terral & Lequeux, 1991 (mostly treated as a full species)
• Usta terpsichore abyssinica (Aurivillius, 1898) (mostly treated as a synonym)
• Usta terpsichore yaere Darge, 1994 (mostly treated as a synonym)

References

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