Zingiberales

Cock, Matthew J. W., Congdon, T. Colin E. & Collins, Steve C., 2016, Observations on the biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera). Part 9. Hesperiinae incertae sedis: Zingiberales feeders, genera of unknown biology and an overview of the Hesperiinae incertae sedis, Zootaxa 4066 (3), pp. 201-247 : 238

Discussion, Zingiberales feeders

Several Zingiberaceae- and Costaceae-feeders show a distinctive feature of the pupa, i.e. the C-shaped rim to the T1 spiracle. This has been found in species of Semalea , Xanthodisca , Hypoleucis and Caenides reported here, and can also be seen in the palm-feeding Caenides dacela (Cock et al. 2014) . In Semalea , and Caenides , this rim is similar in colour to the rest of the pupa, but in Xanthodisca and Hypoleucis it is differentiated by colour, so that the rim could be seen as forming a counterfeit eye ( Janzen et al. 2010). Apart from Hypoleucis , the caterpillars of these genera also have slightly narrower heads than is the case with other genera. Of this group of genera, we have only documented the ova of Semalea spp. ( Figures 14 and 19 ), so although these are markedly different from other Hesperiinae genera for which we have documented the eggs, we cannot generalise to the other genera that feed on Zingiberaceae and Costaceae . However, we suggest this pupal character may be indicative of a natural genera group within the Afrotropical Hesperiinae incertae sedis. They are unlikely to be closely related to Asian Zingiberaceae- and Costaceae-feeders such as Notocrypta spp., Udaspes spp. and Ancistroides spp. which have similar caterpillars, but have pupae of what we have referred to as the Baorini type ( Cock & Congdon 2012).

Figures

FIGURE 14. Putative hatched ovum of Semalea arela, collected on Aframomum orientale, Makadara Forest, Shimba Hills, Kenya, 30 Mar 1989; hatched and photographed 4 Apr; MJWC 89 / 25 I.

FIGURE 19. Ovum of Semalea pulvina, collected on Aframomum sp., Rondo Plateau, south-east Tanzania, 3 Apr 1998 [TCEC].