Spialia confusa obscura Higgins, 1925

Cock, Matthew J. W., 2016, Observations on the biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera) with particular reference to Kenya. Part 10. Pyrginae, Carcharodini, Zootaxa 4173 (4), pp. 301-350 : 322-323

Spialia confusa obscura Higgins, 1925

This is the second of the two species De Jong (1978) placed in his colotes group. Higgins (1925) originally described confusa and obscura as two varieties (‘var.’) of Hesperia transvaaliae (i.e. S. colotes transvaaliae , above) from Malawi (= Nyasaland) and ‘Nairobi’ respectively. Evans (1937) raised the two varieties to their present status. The nominate subspecies occurs from Tanzania to South Africa, while subspecies obscura from 'Nairobi' is restricted to coastal Kenya and Tanzania—the Spice Coast centre of endemism of Kingdom (1990). The data of the type specimen from Nairobi must be considered suspect given that no locality closer than the Shimba Hills is known.

In Kenya, this species is restricted to coastal localities from Arabuko-Sokoke Forest to the Shimba Hills , where Sevastopulo (1974) records it as uncommon on the outskirts of Makardara and Marere Forests. It seems to be rare as De Jong (1978) lists only 20 specimens from the world's major collections. I have encountered it on three occasions in the Shimba Hills flying beside the track to the Marere Waterworks on the landward side of the hills. Van Someren's (1939) report from the Chyulu Hills is in error for S. colotes (De Jong 1978) .

Adult behaviour. De Jong (1978) notes that on the dry sandy roads in the Arabuko Forest ‘it is a small and swift species, which frequently skips from sun-lit places into shadows and then appears to be lost’. On one occasion when I found this species in the Shimba Hills, two males flying around each other were an easy catch.

Food plants. Van Someren (1974) lists Melhania spp. as food plants of S. confusa , but as noted above, he earlier misidentified S. colotes as S. confusa obscura (Van Someren 1939, De Jong 1978). Sevastopulo (1974, 1975) lists the food plants of S. confusa obscura as Melhania sp. and Triumfetta sp. Sevastopulo (unpublished) records the life history of what he has identified as this species, based upon caterpillars collected on Triumfetta sp. in the Makardara Forest (Shimba Hills). Not only do his description and photos remind me of S. dromus (Plötz) (head ... clothed with simple black and white, and ribbon-like black setae), but I too have collected caterpillars from the same food plant at the same locality, and they were S. dromus , albeit atypical with reduced white spotting on the upper side. Sevastopulo (unpublished) did not record the life history of S. dromus , which is most strange since it is common on food plants from which he collected. However, he does record the food plants of both S. dromus and S. confusa obscura as Melhania sp. and Triumfetta sp. (Sevastopulo 1974). Until voucher material can be examined from Sevastopulo's rearings, I suspect that there has been a mix-up here, and that Sevastopulo's (unpublished) record of the life history of S. confusa refers to S. dromus , and the food plant record of Triumfetta sp. should also relate to S. dromus .

Kielland (1990), Larsen (1991) and Heath et al. (2002) again give Melhania and Triumfetta , but are assumed to be following these earlier sources. Pringle et al. (1994) and Henning et al. (1997) also give these names, referring to Sevastopulo’s work and East Africa respectively. Woodhall (2005) suggests they are probably the food plants. In view of the possible confusion, it would be appropriate to consider these food plants records, particularly that of Triumfetta sp. as unconfirmed. I have not reared this species.