Pyrrhiades aeschylus (Plötz, 1884)

Collins, Steve C., 2017, Observations on the biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera). Part 12. New information and corrections, Zootaxa 4312 (3), pp. 471-496 : 473

Pyrrhiades aeschylus (Plötz, 1884)

César et al. (2010) illustrate the caterpillar in dorsal view on Acridocarpus chevalieri (Malpighiaceae) from riverine gallery forest, Burkino Faso. Jérémy Bouyer, who took that image, shared this and additional images ( Figure 1 ). It can be seen that the final instar caterpillar rests in a simple leaf roll shelter, with its head visible at the basal end (Figure 1.1) and the posterior segments visible at the distal end (Figure 1.2). Comparing the images with the description by Fleury (1926) (repeated in Cock 2010b), there is a close match, except that Fleury did not mention that the head is orange-red, with a row of four black spots across the upper face and another spot covering the stemmata.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Final instar caterpillar of Pyrrhiades aeschylus, photographed on Acridocarpus chevalieri, riverine gallery forest, Dafra, Burkino Faso, 1 Jun 2007, by Jérémy Bouyer. 1, view of head at basal end of leaf shelter; 2, view of posterior region at distal end of leaf shelter; 3, detail of head anterodorsal view; 4, caterpillar, dorsal view. (© J. Bouyer).