Artitropa, Holland, 1896

Cock, Matthew J. W., Congdon, T. Colin E. & Collins, Steve C., 2015, Observations on the Biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera). Part 8. Hesperiinae incertae sedis: Dracaena Feeders, Zootaxa 3985 (3), pp. 301-348 : 343

Artitropa sp. SCC03

This is an undescribed endemic Madagascan species discovered by ABRI collectors at Mont d'Ambre, which has been referred to in unpublished reports as A. hollandi . T.B. Larsen (pers. comm.) will describe it as new. The yellow hyaline markings at the apex of the hind wing suggest affinities with no other known Artitropa species ( Figure 39 ); however, these markings are not present on the only other specimen reared. T.B. Larsen (pers. comm. 2014) has examined these markings under a microscope and notes they are well defined, fully scaled and symmetrical.

Life history. The food plant found by ABRI collectors at Mont d'Ambre is a Dracaena spp., a larger species than used by Artitropa sp. SCC01 and A. boseae , resembling the mainland D. steudneri , although the location and forest habitat suggests that both may be Clade A of Buerki et al. (2009).

The yellow-brown head of the final instar caterpillar ( Figure 40 ) has large black spots: a central spot placed over the top of the adfrontals and adjacent epicranium, on epicranium just above adfrontals, over the stemmata, midway between the last two level with the bottom of the central spot, just lateral to the apex, and laterally, level with the central spot, making 11 in total. The reared pupa was not documented.

A similar caterpillar was found at Ramanofana, about 200km south of Antananarivo in central Madagascar, but was not reared out. Large emerged or dead pupae (35–41mm) with similar associated head capsules were found on a large-leaved Dracaena sp. at Andisibe, east of Antananarivo. The emerged pupae were similar to those of other Artitropa spp., with no obvious markings and the proboscis extending beyond the cremaster. However, since the caterpillars of Artitropa alaotrana , A. hollandi and at least one undescribed species are not yet known, we cannot be completely confident that these represent Artitropa sp. SCC03 found at Mount d’Ambre in the north of Madagascar.

Figures

FIGURE 39. Pinned adult male of Artitropa sp. SCC 03, collected on Dracaena sp., Mont d’Ambre, northern Madagascar, Jan 2003 [TCEC]. 1.5 x life size, scale bar = 1 cm.

FIGURE 40. Caterpillars of Artitropa sp. SCC 03, collected on Dracaena sp., Mont d’Ambre, northern Madagascar, 6 Jan 2003 [TCEC]. 1 – 2, final instar, head and anterior segments: 1, anterodorsal view; 2, dorsolateral view.