Xanthodisca rega Mabille, 1890

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 : 221

Xanthodisca rega Mabille, 1890

Evans (1937) treated X. rega Mabille 1889 as the West African subspecies of X. vibius , but Carcasson (1981) and Ackery et al. (1995) treat it as a distinct subspecies, and the two overlap in Cameroon ( Larsen 2005). Described from Sierra Leone, this species is found from Senegal, west to Cameroon and Gabon ( Ackery et al. 1995, Larsen 2005), although Vande Weghe (2010) considers the record from Gabon unlikely to be correct. In Côte d’Ivoire, Vuattoux (1999) reared three specimens of this species from Aframomum cereum (as A. sceptrum ) collected in July 1979 and December 1988. Larsen (2005) and Vande weghe (2010) repeat this food plant record. MJWC also reared this species once in Côte d’Ivoire from a final instar caterpillar collected on an Aframomum sp. (reminiscent of A. orientale ) on 3 June 1989.

The leaf shelter was on one of the lower leaves; only the basal third of the leaf remained, and it was folded upwards along the midrib. About four days before the prepupa, the caterpillar was 30mm long; head brown, slightly paler adjacent epicranial suture; rugose; widest nearer base, 2.4 x 2.7mm wide x high; body translucent dull, dark green, the dorsal line darker, brown gonads visible on A5; anal plate with an unusual black dot on the posterior margin; spiracles pale; all legs concolorous. The 18mm pupa ( Figure 24 ) had a transverse row of three very short frontal projections (Figure 24.2); thorax brown, abdomen whitish brown; T1 spiracle surrounded by a dark brown C-shaped rim similar to that of X. vibius , the central hole measured 0.66mm across ventrally-dorsally, and the rim measured 0.46mm across dorsally, 0.22m posteriorly and 0.42mm ventrally, i.e. rather narrower than that of X. vibius ; a white streak just anterodorsal to T1 spiracle. The adult emerged after 18 days.

Figures

FIGURE 24. Pupa of Xanthodisca rega collected as final instar caterpillar on Aframomum sp., Forêt du Yapo, Côte d’Ivoire, 3 Jun 1990; pupated and photographed 14 Jun; adult 2 Jul; 18 mm; MJWC 89 / 215. 1, ventrolateral view; 2, detail of head and thorax, dorsal view.