Gretna waga Plötz, 1886

Cock, Matthew J. W., Congdon, Colin E. & Collins, Steve C., 2014, Observations on the biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera). Part 6. Hesperiinae incertae sedis: palm feeders, Zootaxa 3831 (1), pp. 1-61 : 39-40

Gretna waga Plötz, 1886

Gretna waga is also a palm-feeder; Mariau et al. (1981) note that the caterpillar feeds on oil palm and/or coconut. They state that the caterpillar has the same general appearance as Zophopetes cerymica and Pteroteinon laufella , ‘but it is white with a line of brown spots down its back; in addition, the body is covered with white bristles’. Vuattoux (1999) reared G. waga twice from E. guineensis in Côte d’Ivoire, and this record is repeated in Larsen (2005) and Vande weghe (2010). SCC has reared it from ‘oil palm’ in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Gambia.

There are two emerged pupae with final instar head capsules in ABRI from Monagaga, Côte d’Ivoire (oil palm, emerged 27 Jun 2000) and Accra (oil palm, Nov 1996). The latter is still in its leaf shelter, which is made from a whole leaflet rolled downwards to make a tube, and lightly lined with silk, and the girdle is several separate fine strands of silk. There appears to be a few loose silks across each end of the shelter, but no barriers. The pupal shelter is very lightly covered with white waxy powder and some of this is present on the setae of the pupa, particularly on the dorsal abdomen. The emerged pupa ( Figure 36 ) is translucent, very pale brown, and the markings are similar to those of G. carmen capra ( Figure 34 ). The emerged pupae have dense, erect setae on the head and dorsally on the thorax, which are absent in G. carmen capra .

The associated final instar head capsules are more or less covered with white waxy powder; the body is covered with long white setae; the ventral half of the head has downward directed pale setae, but the dorsal half is more or less clear. The head is pale brown; the one from Côte d’Ivoire has the epicranial suture black and the adfrontal suture dark; there is an irregular black mark at the apex of the frons, but no markings on the epicranium. Any markings on the Ghana specimen are obscured by the heavy white waxy powder.

Figures

FIGURE 34. Lateral view, field collected pupae of Gretna carmen capra, on Cocos nucifera, Bamburi Beach, Kenya, 7 Sep 1988; pupa on right emerged 8 Sep, that on left 15 Sep; 25mm; 88/77A.

FIGURE 36. Emerged pupa of Gretna waga, collected on oil palm, Monagaga, Côte d’Ivoire, emerged 27 Jun 2000 [SCC]. 1, dorsal view; 2, lateral view showing the dense, erect, pale brown setae on head and thorax.