Coeliades rama Evans, 1937

Cock, Matthew J. W., 2010, Observations on the biology of Afro-tropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera) principally from Kenya. Part 1. Introduction and Coeliadinae, Zootaxa 2547, pp. 1-63 : 57

Coeliades rama Evans ( Figures 50–51 )

T.C.E. Congdon (ABRI) provided the photographs of the caterpillar ( Figure 49 ) and pupa ( Figure 50 ) of C. rama , a Madagascan endemic, which he reared from on a climbing Combretum sp. in northern Madagscar.

Superficially, the caterpillar is rather similar to those of Pyrrhiades a. anchises (e.g., Figure 7 ), but the white ventrolateral line with a red-brown line above which separates the white ventrolateral line from the white transverse bands is an unusual feature of C. rama caterpillars not seen in any of the species illustrated above. The size of the black spots on the head is variable, as can be seen comparing the lateral and dorsal views of two different caterpillars in Figure 49 . The pupa ( Fig. 51 ) has minimal black spotting, similar to some individuals of C. forestan ( Figure 29 ).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Final instar caterpillar of Pyrrhiades anchises anchises, form 2 on Caucanthus auriculatus, Kibwezi Forest; above, caterpillar 29mm; below left, detail of head; below right, detail of anal segments; 16 Jan 1990 (89/109E).

FIGURE 29. Pupae of Coeliades f. forestan; left, newly formed pupa reared from a caterpillar collected on Lonchocarpus bussei, Arabuko Sokoke Forest, 23 Sep 1989, pupated 3 Oct, photographed 4 Oct (88/85A); centre and right, lateral and ventral views of pupa reared from a caterpillar collected on Combretum sp. A., Kibwezi Forest, 23 Jan 1990, pupated 5 Feb, photographed 11 Feb (90/10B).

FIGURE 49. Caterpillars of Coeliades sp. probably fervida on unknown food plant, Madagascar (photographs T.C.E. Congdon, ABRI).

FIGURE 50. Final instar caterpillars of Coeliades rama collected on a climbing Combretum sp., northern Madagascar. Above left, detail of head; above right, caterpillar lateral view; below left, caterpillar dorsal view; below right, detail of anal segments (all photographs T.C.E. Congdon, ABRI).

FIGURE 51. Pupa of Coeliades rama collected as a caterpillar on a climbing Combretum sp., northern Madagascar. Left, dorsal view; centre, lateral view; right, ventral view (all photographs T.C.E. Congdon, ABRI).