Zenonia Evans, 1935

Cock, Matthew J. W. & Congdon, Colin E., 2012, Observations on the biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera) principally from Kenya. Part 4. Hesperiinae: Aeromachini and Baorini, Zootaxa 3438, pp. 1-42 : 6-7

Zenonia Evans, 1935 (in Carpenter 1935)

Evans (1935 in Carpenter 1935) established this genus for Z. zeno (Trimen) , and subsequently described two additional species from the genus ( Evans 1937a). MJWC has reared Z. zeno from Kenya, and TCEC from Tanzania.

Sevastopulo (1975) gives grasses as the food plant of for Z. crasta Evans (a species from Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi (Evans 1937a, ABRI collection)) in his list of the food plants of East African Macrolepidoptera, but since he didn’t rear this species (Sevastopulo unpublished), no one else has reported food plants for Z. crasta , and it is immediately preceded by Z. zeno in his list without an entry, it seems possible that he intended Z. zeno . There is an eclosed pupa in the NHM dry early stages collection labelled Z. crasta ex Van Someren coll., but the cross reference label in the Van Someren collection in accessions is in the series of Z. zeno . The pupa is missing the frontal plate and there are no remains for the final instar caterpillar; as such it is not identifiable, although consistent with the pupa shown below for Z. zeno . Van Someren’s collection includes long series of both Z. zeno and Z. crasta , many of the latter in fresh condition, but none seem to be labelled as reared.

Thus, there is uncertainty about this pupa and Sevastopulo’s record. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to anticipate that Z. crasta will be found to be a Poaceae feeder, with early stages similar to those of Z. zeno .