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
Author
Cock, Matthew J. W.
Author
Congdon, T. Colin E.
Author
Collins, Steve C.
text
Zootaxa
2016
4066
3
201
247
journal article
51187
10.11646/zootaxa.4066.3.1
efd9df5e-1439-4724-ae76-a219f7c3ce70
1175-5326
264653
680D0FB4-F3BC-4562-B214-631067287218
Hypoleucis
Mabille, 1891
Hypoleucis
is a small Afrotropical genus of just three species (
Evans 1937
,
Ackery
et al
. 1995
).
Evans (1937)
and
Ackery
et al
. (1995)
treat the
type
species of the genus,
H. tripunctata
Mabille
as having three subspecies, but
Larsen (2005)
raises doubts as to whether subspecies are justified ‘since any population shows considerable variation’.
Vuattoux (1999)
reared
H. tripunctata tripunctata
once from
Aframomum alboviolaceum
(as
A. latifolium
) in
June 1973
and once from
A. cereum
(as
A. sceptrum
) in
July 1979
at Lamto,
Côte d’Ivoire
(repeated as
Aframomum
in Vande weghe 2010). The common
H. ophiusa
(Hewitson)
feeds on
Costus
spp. (
Costaceae
) and is treated below. In contrast,
Vuattoux (1999)
reared the much rarer
H. sophia
Evans
from
Sorghum arundinaceum
(Poaceae)
once in
February 1972
(repeated in Vande weghe 2010). It seems rather unlikely that different members of the same genus would feed on
Zingiberales
and
Poaceae
, so this record needs confirmation. However, it is worth noting Evans’ (1937) observation that
H. sophia
differs from the other two species in having no forewing brand and very special, completely different palpi, the third segment being comparatively long, pointed and in continuation of the second segment; but in appearance, antennae, venation and wing shape it does not differ from the other species. It is almost certainly not congeneric (T.B. Larsen pers. comm. 2015). We have no other information on the early stages of
H. tripunctata
and
H. sophia
.