Gorgyra subflavidus Holland , 1896

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 : 17-18

Gorgyra subflavidus Holland, 1896

Although described from Usagara, Tanzania ( Holland 1896), this rare species is also known from Mozambique and Kenya. In Tanzania, Kielland (1990) associated it with riverine vegetation from sea level to 1200 m. Although quite widespread in eastern Tanzania, it seems rare and localised in Kenya, e.g. Sevastopulo (1974) records very occasional specimens around Makardara Forest.

Food plants

Sevastopulo (unpublished) reared this species from Kwale (Shimba Hills, Kenya) but unfortunately did not record the food plant which presumably he was unable to identify. His photographs suggest a plant with small rounded leaves of about 30mm. TCEC found this species ( Figures 18 and 19 ) on what has been provisionally identified from a small sapling of sterile material of a Meliaceae (Sapindales) , initially identified as Entandrophragma sp. , but now thought to be a Khaya sp. , at Sanje, at the eastern end of the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. As is often the case with Hesperiidae , and noted above for G. bibulus , the caterpillars feed on soft new growth, ignoring mature foliage.

Leaf shelters

A folded leaf.

Caterpillar

“Head dark purplish red. Body green, traces of a darker green dorsal line. Anal flap flattened and rounded. 1 st somite [T1] narrow, forming a neck.” (Sevastopulo unpublished).

Pupa

“Pupa formed in the larval cell, with a curtain of whitish silk blocking the front and lightly coated with a white waxy powder. Pale green, the head, thorax and wing-cases more yellow. Head with a central, bifid, forwardpointing, brownish process. Pro-thoracic spiracle large and reddish in colour.” (Sevastopulo unpublished). Pupation took 10 days.

Figures

FIGURE 18. Final instar caterpillar of Gorgyra subflavidus, dorsal view, collected on Entandrophragma sp., Sanje, Tanzania, 1 Feb 2000, TCEC.

FIGURE 19. Pupa of Gorgyra subflavidus collected as caterpillars on?Khaya sp., Sanje, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, c. 1000m, Tanzania, 1 Feb 2000, TCEC. 1, dorsal view, 15 Feb 2000; 2, dorsolateral view, 10 Feb 2000; 3, lateral view, as #2.