Artitropa milleri, Riley, 1925

Cock, Matthew J. W., Congdon, T. Colin E. & Collins, Steve C., 2015, Observations on the Biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera). Part 8. Hesperiinae incertae sedis: Dracaena Feeders, Zootaxa 3985 (3), pp. 301-348 : 317-318

Artitropa milleri TCEC01(Nyika)

TCEC has found this species or subspecies from Nyika Plateau in Zambia and Malawi. It is the southernmost representative of the A. milleri complex, and appears to differ from material found along the Congo-Zambezi divide in Zambia, and across into western Tanzania in Mpanda and Kigoma.

Life history. The food plant is D. laxissima . The ovum (Figure 14.1–2) and leaf shelters (Figure 14.3) are similar to those of other members of this group.

The final instar caterpillar (Figure 15.1–3) is similar to those of other members of the A. milleri group, but lack black spots on the head laterally and dorso-posteriorly below the apex, the former being present in the other three, and the latter in A. m. milleri and A. m. coryndon . The black marking in the adfrontals (when present) is separated from the marking on the epicranium by the brown adfrontal suture (Figure 15.2–3). The head markings may be variable, for example, Figure 15.1 shows an individual with no black marking on the adfrontals. We have not been able to assess the individual and geographic variation, to comment on the significance of this. The pupa is pale, and lacks the dark markings noted in A. m. coryndon , although there is a weak dark dorsal arc on A1.