Sesamia poephaga Tams & Bowden, 1953

Hévin, Noémie M. C., Kergoat, Gael J., Zilli, Alberto, Capdevielle-Dulac, Claire, Musyoka, Boaz K., Sezonlin, Michel, Conlong, Desmond, Van Den Berg, Johnnie, Ndemah, Rose, Le Gall, Philippe, Cugala, Domingos, Nyamukondiwa, Casper, Pallangyo, Beatrice, Njaku, Mohamedi, Goftishu, Muluken, Assefa, Yoseph, Kandonda, Onésime Mubenga, Bani, Grégoire, Molo, Richard, Chipabika, Gilson, Ong’amo, George, Clamens, Anne-Laure, Barbut, Jérôme & Le Ru, Bruno, 2024, Revisiting the taxonomy and molecular systematics of Sesamia stemborers (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Apameini: Sesamiina): updated classification and comparative evaluation of species delimitation methods, Arthropod Systematics & amp; Phylogeny 82, pp. 447-501 : 447-501

Sesamia poephaga Tams & Bowden, 1953

Figures 8 J, U ; 9 H ; 11 ; 12 Q – T

Sesamia poephaga – Tams and Bowden (1953: 668), Poole (1989: 908 [catalogue]).

Type material.

Holotype ♂, [ GHANA], Gold Coast, N. [orth] Territories , Kete-Krachi , SES / 31, B. M. 1925-126 , Agrotidae genitalia slide No. 1238, A. W. Cardinall Leg., ( NHM) ; Paratypes: GHANA: one ♀, Gold Coast, North Ashanti, Wenchi , 7. xii. 1947, ex maize, NHM] ; NIGERIA: one ♀, Niger, Anambara Creek, Rothschild Bequest B. M. 1939-1 , Ses. 100, Sesamia poephaga Tams Paratype ♀ det., W. H. T. Tams Agrotidae genitalia slide No. 1408, ( NHM) ; one ♂, Anambara Creek, Rothschild Bequest B. M. 1939-1 ., Agrotidae genitalia slide No. 1282, ( NHM) ; one ♀, Nigeria, Ogruga , R. Niger, NHM] ; REPUBLIC OF CÔTE D’IVOIRE: one ♀, Bingerville , 1–5. VIII. 1918, ( NHM) ; TOGO: five ♀, British Mandated Togoland, Kpeve , X. 1949, ex maize, ( NHM) .

Other material.

ZAMBIA: two ♂, Western Province, Kantongo , 09 ° 29 ′ 03 ″ S, 32 ° 37 ′ 54 ″ E, 1378 m a. s. l., III. 2012, light trap, gen. Prep. LE RU Bruno / 111-153, (B. Le Ru leg.) ( MNHN) .

Diagnosis.

(See also the identification key of incerta subgroup, section 3.4. 2.). This species can be distinguished from the other known members of the incerta subgroup by the combination of the following characters of the male and female genitalia: tegumen with large erected peniculi; vinculum u-shaped at the outer margin with a large sized saccus, rectangular; sacculus with a broad and short apical extension, curved inwards, strongly club-shaped; juxta large, the inferior plate almost triangular, produced into a sharp point, the superior plate broad and of medium length, shortly bifid terminally; phallus short and thick; vesica with a small semi-circular flat cornutus; ventrolateral plates of female segment A 8 very large, trapezoidal, the anterior side rounded, as long as wide; ostium bursae large, funnel-shaped sclerotized, with slightly pointed tip on each side; ductus bursae with two posterior very narrow and long sclerotized areas.

Description.

(Fig. 12 Q – T ). The species has been described in great detail by Tams and Bowden (1953). However, Tams and Bowden did not mention the fact that the wings are more elongated in females than in males. — Forewing length: male 32–35 mm (x ̅ = 33.5 mm, N = 4); female 34–40 mm (x ̅ = 37.2 mm, N = 6). — Male genitalia (Fig. 8 J, U ). Tegumen with large erected peniculi; vinculum u-shaped at the outer margin and w-shaped at the inner margin without indentation, with a large saccus, rectangular. Valve with sacculus and cucullus separate; costa short and narrow, heavily sclerotized, ending with a stout and short straight spine, with two apical teeth; sacculus heavily sclerotized rounded at base, a broad and short apical extension, curved inwards, strongly club-shaped, bearing numerous short and stout spines; cucullus longer than sacculus, weakly sclerotized, slightly clavate at apex, with scattered and papillated hairs; juxta large, the inferior plate almost triangular, produced into a sharp point, the superior plate broad and of medium length, shortly bifid terminally; uncus angled and stout at base, narrowed in distal part, pointed at apex, tufted with long hairs on upper side; phallus short and thick, a bit curved in the middle; lamina ventralis with an elongate carinal crest, produced into paired lateral lobes; vesica with a small semi-circular flat cornutus. — Female genitalia (Fig. 9 H ). Apophyses anteriores with spatulate tips; ventrolateral plates of segment A 8 very large, trapezoidal, sclerotized, the anterior side rounded, as long as wide; ostium bursae large, funnel-shaped, sclerotized, with slightly pointed tip on each side; ductus bursae long and narrow, with two posterior very narrow and long sclerotized areas; corpus bursae pyriform, without signa; ovipositor lobes at least 2.8 times longer than wide with dorsal surface bearing numerous short and stout setae, the ventral side of each lobe slightly curved; apophyses posteriores more slender than apophyses anteriores.

Distribution.

Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia. Known from localities in different vegetation mosaics (‘ wetter Zambezian miombo woodland (dominated by Brachystegia , Julbernardia and Isoberlinia ’ (Mosaic # 25), ‘ Sudanian woodland with abundant Isoberlinia ’ (Mosaic # 27), ‘ undifferentiated woodland (Sudanian and North Zambezian) ’ (Mosaic # 29 a, c )) ( White 1983) (Fig. 10 ) belonging to the Congolian, Sudanian and Zambezian bioregions (sensu Linder et al. 2012). We never found this species in Eastern Africa despite the collection of hundreds of Sesamia specimens belonging to the S. epunctifera species complex (made of S. epunctifera , S. kamba sp. nov. and S. poephaga ).

Ecology.

This species is an occasional minor pest of maize and sorghum and sugarcane ( Tams and Bowden 1953; Ratnadass and Djimadoumngar 2002; Mathieu et al. 2006). According to Ratnadass and Djimadoumngar (2002) and Mathieu et al. (2006), this species inhabits the savannahs of West and Central Africa. On one occasion, two specimens were light-trapped by us in a dry Nyombo forested area in Zambia, which confirms that this is a species that inhabits relatively dry habitats.

Remarks.

Morphological and molecular results indicate that S. poephaga is closely related to S. epunctifera and S. kamba sp. nov.. When Tams and Bowden (1953) described S. poephaga , they designated a female allotype from Tanzania and 17 paratypes (all females except one male from Kenya). Tams and Bowden considered that S. poephaga was a widespread species, as the paratypes come from Eastern Africa ( Kenya and Uganda), Southern Africa ( Malawi and Zimbabwe), Western Africa ( Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Togo) and the Comoro Islands. The genitalia of the female allotype ([ Tanzania], Tanganyika, Chunya District, Chunya, 2650 ft., 1926, Agrotidae genitalia slide No. 1239, G. Swynnerton [Leg.], [ NHM]), designated by Tams and Bowden (1953) clearly does not belong to a female of S. poephaga but to an unknown species of the cretica species group, morphologically close to S. albivena Hampson. On the other hand, the female paratype from Nigeria, Anambara Creek, Agrotidae genitalia slide No. 1408, [ NHM] clearly belongs to the species S. poephaga . Without the possibility of dissecting the genitalia and taking into account the results of our extensive collections in Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Africa (several hundred specimens collected from more than 15 countries), specimens from Eastern Africa should belong to S. kamba sp. nov., and those from Southern Africa should belong either to the S. pennipuncta species complex (made of S. lalaci sp. nov., S. lusese sp. nov., S. msowero sp. nov. and S. pennipuncta ) or to the S. epunctifera species complex. The single specimen from the Comoro Islands seems to belong to a distinct species. In Western Africa the species is obtained from maize and sorghum on which it is an occasional pest in the southern part of the savannah zone; there are no records from wild host plants.

Figures

Figure 8. Male genitalia of members of the incerta subgroup (dorsal view for apparatus and lateral view for phalli). S. epunctifera: A apparatus; L phallus; S. firmata: B apparatus; M phallus; S. incerta: C apparatus; N phallus; S. kamba sp. nov.: D apparatus; O phallus; S. lalaci sp. nov.: E apparatus; P phallus; S. lusese sp. nov.: F apparatus; Q phallus; S. msowero sp. nov.: G apparatus; R phallus; S. pennipuncta: H apparatus; S phallus; S. penniseti: I apparatus; T phallus; S. poephaga: J apparatus; U phallus; S. simplaria: K apparatus; V phallus. Scale bar = 1 mm for apparatus and 0.5 for phalli.

Figure 9. Female genitalia from members of the incerta subgroup (ventral view). A S. epunctifera; B S. firmata; C S. incerta; D S. kamba sp. nov.; E S. msowero sp. nov.; F S. pennipuncta; G S. penniseti; H S. poephaga; I S. simplaria. Scale bar = 1 mm.

Figure 10. Distribution map of sampled specimens of the incerta subgroup: S. epunctifera, S. incerta, S. kamba sp. nov., S. lusese sp. nov., S. msowero sp. nov.

Figure 11. Distribution map of sampled specimens of the incerta subgroup: S. firmata, S. lalaci sp. nov., S. pennipuncta, S. poephaga, S. penniseti, S. simplaria.

Figure 12. Adults of the incerta subgroup (S. lalaci sp. nov., S. lusese sp. nov., S. msowero sp. nov., S. pennipuncta, S. penniseti, S. poephaga and S. simplaria). S. lalaci sp. nov.: A male upper side; B male underside; S. lusese sp. nov.: C male upper side; D male underside; S. msowero sp. nov.: E male upper side; F male underside; G female upper side; H female underside; S. pennipuncta: I male upper side; J male underside; K female upper side; L female underside; S. penniseti: M male upper side; N male underside; O female upper side; P female underside; S. poephaga: Q male upper side; R male underside; S female upper side; T female underside; S. simplaria: U male upper side; V male underside; W female upper side; X female underside. Scale bar = 10 mm.