Tagiades insularis insularis Mabille, 1876

Collins, Steve C., 2017, Observations on the biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera). Part 12. New information and corrections, Zootaxa 4312 (3), pp. 471-496 : 479

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4312.3.4

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2B704D83-8Fb5-41C6-B558-3A1Dbe9Ede66

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6029801

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/DB357E4F-AB07-FF8E-FF1D-B504C976F8F5

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Tagiades insularis insularis Mabille, 1876
status

 

Tagiades insularis insularis Mabille, 1876 View in CoL

The ABRI team reared this Madagascan subspecies from Maroantsetra (Cap Masoala) from a Discorea sp. ( Dioscoreaceae ) in April 2016, and more recently TCEC reared it in December 2009 and SCC and TCEC in April 2013 from the same or a different Dioscorea sp. at Tsaranoro Valley, southern Madagascar ( Figure 10 View FIGURE 10 ). There are currently 30 endemic, three non-endemic and two introduced species of Dioscorea recognised from Madagascar (Madagascar Catalogue 2013).

The final instar caterpillar of T. i. insularis ( Figure 11 View FIGURE 11 ) is very similar to that of T. flesus (Fabricius) ( Henning et al. 1997, p. 65; Cock & Congdon 2011a, Figure 21 View FIGURE 21 ). The head of the Madagascan T. i. insularis is slightly darker in colour and the apices more acutely angled, while the body appears more intensely coloured. However, without more information on individual variation, it would be premature to assume this was significant.

The pupa is very similar to that of T. flesus ( Henning et al. 1997, p. 65; Cock & Congdon (2011a, Figure 22 View FIGURE 22 ), and immediately recognisable as a Tagiades sp. The pupa of T. i. insularis is darker brown, the shape of the brown wing markings differ, the distal half of the antenna is shining white in T. flesus , and light brown in T. i. insularis , and the shining white area on the ventral abdomen is much more extensive in T. flesus . However, as for the caterpillar, without examining more material, it cannot be suggested that these differences are significant.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Hesperiidae

Genus

Tagiades

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