Electrostrymon angelia ( Hewitson, 1874 )

Martinez, Jose I., Crane, Jonathan H., Wasielewski, Jeff, Miller, Jacqueline Y. & Carrillo, Daniel, 2019, Lepidoptera pests of sapodilla (Manilkara zapota (L.) van Royen) in south Florida, with some comments on life history and natural control, Insecta Mundi 739 (739), pp. 1-26 : 5-6

Electrostrymon angelia ( Hewitson, 1874)

Thecla angelia Hewitson, 1874

Strymon angelia dowi Clench, 1941

Thecla angelia pantoni Comstock and Huntington, 1943

Thecla angelia boyeri Comstock and Huntington, 1943

Callicista angelia ( Hewitson, 1874) : Lewis, 1974

Electrostrymon angelia was described as Thecla angelia by Hewitson (1874) and recorded in H. G.

Smith’s collections at the BMNH and various publications under several synonyms.

Description. Egg. Green encircled by small white spines. Larva. First instar grayish-green with long white setae; second instar with body orange with some purple spots and medium sized black setae; third instar body completely orange and setae small and numerous; fourth instar similar to third except body purple with some orange spots; length is 8.9–9.3 mm ( Fig. 1E ). Pre-pupa. Darker than last instar. Pupa. Completely purple with white setae covering whole body. Adult. Sexually dimorphic in size, males larger than females. Wing expanse: males 21–23.2 mm, females 19.8–21.1 mm. Wings. Dorsal surface: Forewings dark brown with large reddish-orange triangular markings between inner margin and cell M1; these markings reduced or absent in the female. Hindwings completely dark-brown with two tails; lobe reddish-orange; base of tails with submarginal white line. Ventral surface: All wings reddish-brown. Female paler brown than male; submarginal line and outer margin brown; crossed near middle by a dark brown outlined with pale-brown. Hindwings crossed near middle by dark-brown line margined with white spots; lobe surrounded by white margin and the next black spot covered with minute white spots; large black spot between the tails and the next three small spots surrounded by orange; outer margin black, bordered internally with white. Head. Antennae: Brown, elongate, clubbed with white lines among the flagellum segments; club of antenna with three colors: orange apically, brown in the middle and white basally. Vertex: Dark-brown. Mouthparts: Labial palp with first segment larger than second and third. Body. Thorax: Dark-brown above and pale grayish-brown below. Legs: Black with horizontal white lines. Abdomen: Dark-brown above and pale grayish-brown below; from the mid-ventral area towards tip abdomen orangish-brown ( Fig. 2I ).

Distribution. Electrostrymon angelia has been recorded in the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands ( Hewitson 1874; Clench 1941; Comstock and Huntington 1943; Askew 1988; Miller and Miller 1989, 1997; Schwartz 1989; Ramos 1996). It has been recorded in just in two U.S. states: Minnesota and (South) Florida ( Anderson 1974; Miller 1978; Calhoun 1997; Powell 1997).

Hosts. Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Anacardiaceae) ; Piscidia piscipula (L.) Sarg. ( Fabaceae ); Salvia misella Kunth. ; S. micrantha Vahl. (Lamiaceae) ( Pyle 1981; Fernández-Hernández 2007; Allen et al. 2005); Manilkara zapota (L.) van Royen ( Sapotaceae ), new host record; and Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. (Rosaceae) , new host record. The two new host records are also the first time E. angelia has been found on Sapotaceae and Rosaceae .

Natural history. Adults were observed during most of the dry and rainy season (March–July) in Florida. Females lay eggs in the flower and leaf buds. When the eggs hatch, the caterpillars feed on the entire flower, including branches, leaf buds, mature flowers and leaves, but not on the fruits. The caterpillars complete development in 22–24 days. When the caterpillars reach the last instar, they pupate on branches or leaves.

Pupa duration is 24–29 days. The adults live for about three or four months feeding on nectar; males also drink water and puddling salts in wet soil.

Damage. This species has been recorded feeding on leaves of S. terebinthifolius (Anacardiaceae) by Pyle (1981). However, in southern Florida, it has become a problem in the production of sapodilla, as most caterpillars feed on flower buds and mature flowers. They eat everything except the pedicels in mature flowers and all the flower buds except the branches. It is very difficult to find caterpillars as they are reddish purple, the same color as the flower and the leaf buds.

Management. This sapodilla pest could be controlled by pesticides, but no trials have been completed. Furthermore, we observed that they are natural prey of some spiders (e.g. Salticidae and Gasteracantha cancriformis (Linnaeus)) .

Figures

Figure 1. Larvae of Lepidoptera pests of sapodilla. A) Dichrorampha sapodilla Heppner. B) Comotia torsicornis Dyar. C) Holcocera crassicornella Dietz. D) Zamagiria laidion (Zeller). E) Electrostrymon angelia (Hewitson). F) Phidotricha erigens Ragonot. G) Banisia myrsusalis Walker. H) Banisia argutula Whalley. I) Pyroderces badia (Hodges). J) Erinnyis ello (Linnaeus).

Figure 2. Adults of Lepidoptera pests of sapodilla. The unlabeled images in the top half of the figure are to scale, whereas the labeled images in the bottom half of the figure have been resized. A) Dichrorampha sapodilla Heppner. B) Comotia torsicornis Dyar. C) Holcocera crassicornella Dietz. D) Zamagiria laidion (Zeller). E) Pyroderces badia (Hodges). F) Phidotricha erigens Ragonot. G) Banisia myrsusalis Walker. H) Banisia argutula Whalley. I) Electrostrymon angelia (Hewitson). J) Erinnyis ello (Linnaeus).