Sarangesa motozi ( Wallengren 1857 )
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.3033.1.1 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6C3D2156-6E7C-FFFB-E0FE-FA5BFB3837F9 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Sarangesa motozi ( Wallengren 1857 ) |
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Sarangesa motozi ( Wallengren 1857) View in CoL ( Figures 50 View FIGURE 50 –55)
This species ranges from Ethiopia through East Africa to Angola and South Africa (type locality Natal). Evans (1937) recognised two forms: the wet season form motozi , above uniform dark ochreous brown with hyaline spots prominent, and pertusa Mabille 1891 , above variegated brown and lilacine, hyaline spots insignificant. The wet season form is the normal one in Kenya, although Evans lists two males of f. pertusa from Kenya in the NHM.
This is predominantly a coastal species (e.g. common in Makardara Forest all through the year – Sevastopulo 1974) whose range extends as far inland as Kibwezi and Meru, and further west in the northern arid zone. Van Someren (1939) reports it from the vicinity of the Chyulu Hills (900 m, 3,000 ft.), but not on the range itself. Neave's (1904) record (as S. pertusa ) from Ugaia, south of Kisumu, seems to be the only record from around Lake Victoria. It frequents tracks and margins of forests, and is locally not uncommon in these situations. I associate it with wetter forests than most species of the genus. In Tanzania it is common in woodland and forest throughout.
Adult behaviour
This species is active into the late afternoon (e.g. Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, 17.30h, 15 Nov 1988) feeding and
Adults come to flowers such as Stachytarpheta spp. (Verbenaceae) . The male shown in Figure 50 View FIGURE 50 was feeding on a bird dropping, although the dropping is hidden beneath the butterfly. This species usually stays quite close to the ground, seldom settling higher than 1 m, although I have not seen it settle on the ground (a common behaviour in South Africa; Migdoll 1988). Gifford (1965) cites an observation of "hundreds from warthog burrow" in Malawi (see S. phidyle above).
Food plants
Sevastopulo (1974, 1975, unpublished) reared this species from a caterpillar collected on Justicia flava at Nyali. Murray (1959), Clark (in Dickson & Kroon 1978, plate 8) who illustrates the life history and Migdoll (1988) give Peristrophe hensii for South Africa. Kielland (1990) and Heath et al. (2002) repeat these records. In addition to these two genera, Larsen (1991) lists Barleria (all Acanthaceae ), and Henning et al. (1997) give all three recorded food plants.
The food plant at Kibwezi Forest is newly identified as Justicia scandens ( Figure 51.1 View FIGURE 51 ), but this was identified at the time as Isoglossa lactea , so it is not clear now whether this was a misidentification, or two species are a doubtful record, needing confirmation. On re-examining the caterpillar remains of several collections that were not successfully reared, two of these, which died before the final instar, do not appear to be S. motozi so probably another species of Celaenorrhinini also feeds on this food plant. At Diani Beach I observed a female inspecting Asystasia gangetica closely (29 Mar 1989), but she did not oviposit. However, TCEC has found caterpillars and pupae on A. gangetica in the Ruo Gorge, Mulanje, Malawi.
Ovum
The ovum is laid on the leaf upper surface. It has 13–14 strongly defined ribs ( Figure 51.2 View FIGURE 51 ), of which only 7–8 reach the micropyle according to Clark (in Dickson & Kroon 1978). The eclosing caterpillar eats a hole in the top of the ovum, and I have only found eclosed ova. The egg base is 0.69 mm in diameter, 0.79 mm including the ridges (3 samples).
Leaf shelters
The first shelter is usually made close to the egg and is a flap similar to those of Celaenorrhinus spp. , a 3 x 4 mm oval one-cut from the middle of the lamina, and folded over upwards, or a two-cut flap from the edge of the lamina. The second shelter is similar, but larger, measuring 5 x 6 mm when cut from the middle of the lamina, or 7 x 4 mm when cut from the edge. The third shelter is cut from the edge of the lamina and in one example measured 12 x 7 mm. The final shelter is formed by rolling under the lamina one edge of the leaf distal to a large notch eaten from the edge.
Caterpillar
There are five instars. My observations match those of Clark (in Dickson & Kroon 1978) for this species in South Africa. The first instars are reddish with a black head ( Figure 51.3 View FIGURE 51 ). Instar 1 has a brown, smooth shiny head, with just a few small pale setae. In the second or third instars the caterpillar has a very dark brown-black head; rugose with densely reticulate ridges; shiny; short pale setae except on face, stellate with a short stalk, espe- indent at vertex; T1 with brown dorsal plate; body dull dark green dorsally with darker dorsal line and laterally dark reddish green ( Figure 52 View FIGURE 52 ). Closer examination of the head shows that it is similar to that of the final instar, but the setae are much reduced on the face.
A final instar caterpillar (89/107) was 18 mm long ( Figure 53 View FIGURE 53 ). Head broadly indented at vertex; black; rugose with densely reticulate ridges; sparsely covered with tufts of short, pale setae, 2–5 arising from a common base, and some bifurcating close to apex (see Plate 8, Figure 16 View FIGURE 16 by Clark in Dickson & Kroon 1978). T1 as body; body pale green, covered with scattered white dots, which are very short, pale, stalked, stellate setae; yellow tint on anterior margin of segments, especially A3–A6; all legs concolorous; spiracles pale, inconspicuous.
Head capsule measurements, wide x high (number of samples): instar 1 0.45 x 0.40 mm (1); instar 2 0.75 x 0.71 mm (2); instar 3 1.25 x 1.18 mm (4); instar 4 1.92 x 1.81 mm (4); instar 5 2.99 x 2.80 mm (4). In the individual successfully reared (9/28), the last three instars lasted four, six and nine days respectively.
Pupa
The pupa ( Figure 54 View FIGURE 54 ) which I reared (9/28) was 18 mm long ( Figure 54.3 View FIGURE 54 ), and matches that shown by Clark (in Dickson & Kroon 1978). Abdomen light whitish-green; thorax, head and appendages darker, clearer green; covered with a white waxy bloom, with many small clear dots; spiracle T1 black, projecting strongly; other spiracles black. This pupa took 11 days to emerge, whereas that reared by Sevastopulo (unpublished) took nine days at the coast.
Natural enemies
The population at Kibwezi was heavily parasitized by Apanteles (s.l.) sp. and? Charops sp. , so much so that I collected 11 caterpillars from this food plant on five occasions before I successfully reared an adult of S. motozi . However, as noted above under food plants, two of these were probably not S. motozi .
The Apanteles sp. larvae emerge from the mature caterpillar and spin their cocoons scattered along each side of the host caterpillar (Figure 55) in its shelter. The adult wasps emerge after 8 days (6, 7, 8, 8, 10), and the sex ratio is female biased: 1♂, 7♀ (89/107), 2♂, 11♀ (90/9D), 4♂ 14♀ (91/14A), 2♂, 9♀ (91/14B), 3♂, 18♀ (91/14C).
The solitary? Charops sp. larva emerges from the fourth or fifth instar of the host, and spins a distinctive cocoon ( Figure 56.1 View FIGURE 56 ). The adult ( Figure 56.2 View FIGURE 56 ) emerges after 10 days. I have reared this species from caterpillars collected as second and third instars so the wasp probably oviposits in the earliest instars.
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