Caenides Holland , 1896

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 : 225

Caenides Holland, 1896

Holland (1896) established this genus with the palm-feeding C. dacela (Hewitson) as type species. Nine species are currently considered to belong to this genus, but C. hidaroides Aurivillius and C. dacena (Hewitson) do not belong on morphological and male genitalia grounds ( Larsen & Collins 2011, 2014). As is the case for Leona (above) the food plants of species currently placed in the genus Caenides are diverse, suggesting that the genus may be paraphyletic. Caenides dacela is recorded from Phoenix reclinata (Arecaceae) and was treated in Cock et al. (2014). Caenides soritia (Hewitson) has been reported from an undetermined Zingiberaceae (Sevastopulo unpublished, 1975) and oil palm, Elaeis guineensis (Arecaceae) in Côte d’Ivoire ( Vuattoux 1999, Larsen 2005, Vande weghe 2010), but the latter food plant is considered an error below. Caenides kangvensis Holland has been reared from Thalia geniculata (Marantaceae) and Gloriosa superba (Colchicaceae) in Côte d’Ivoire ( Vuattoux 1999, Larsen 2005, Vande weghe 2010). Liliaceae are not members of the Zingiberales , and so this food plant record needs confirmation ( Larsen 2005, Cock et al. 2014). We present information below on C. soritia and C. dacena (Hewitson) , the food plants of which are Costus spp. ( Costaceae ). The food plants and early stages of the remaining Caenides spp. are as yet unknown.