Acleros ploetzi Mabille, 1890

Cock, Matthew J. W. & Congdon, Colin E., 2013, Observations on the Biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera). Part 5. Hesperiinae incertae sedis: Dicotyledon Feeders, Zootaxa 3724 (1), pp. 1-85 : 30-31

Acleros ploetzi Mabille, 1890

This species was originally described as Apaustus leucopygus Plötz from Cameroons, but since the name was preoccupied, Mabille provided the replacement name used. The range of the species extends from West Africa to Kenya, and South to Mozambique.

In Kenya, this species, like the last, is restricted to the rain forests of the West and the Shimba Hills, where according to Sevastopulo (1974) it is not uncommon in the Makardara Forest. In these localities it is not rare, but not usually as common as A. mackenii . The adults come readily to flowers, such as Justicia flava ( Figure 35.2 ).

We have not reared this species, but Sevastapulo (unpublished) has done so from caterpillars on “an unidentified twiner ( Papilionaceae )” in the Shimba Hills, Kenya, although he did not publish this food plant record ( Sevastopulo 1974, 1975, 1981). Larsen (1991) and Ackery et al. (1995) give the food plant as an unidentified Fabaceae . Vuattoux (1999) reared one specimen from caterpillars collected on cultivated cowpea, Vigna unguiculata , in Côte d’Ivoire.

Checking Sevastopulo’s (unpublished) illustrations and descriptions we can see no significant difference from MJWC’s observations on A. mackenii (above). Sevastopulo (unpublished) stated that the pupa is formed “between two spun-together leaves”, but his photographs show a shelter similar to that described below for A. mackenii , except that the distal part of the leaf is not cut away.

Figures

FIGURE 35. Adult Acleros ploetzi Kakamega Forest, Kenya. 1, 14 Oct 2010 (A.D. Warren); 2, feeding at Justicia flava, 15 Jun 1991.