Ampittia capenas Hewitson, 1868

Cock, Matthew J. W. & Congdon, Colin E., 2012, Observations on the biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera) principally from Kenya. Part 4. Hesperiinae: Aeromachini and Baorini, Zootaxa 3438, pp. 1-42 : 3

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.246331

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5680648

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03AB4D68-7B66-D217-FF6F-FB6CFE2BF9E9

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Ampittia capenas Hewitson, 1868
status

 

Ampittia capenas Hewitson, 1868 View in CoL ( Figures 1–3 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 )

This species was described from ‘Zambesi’ ( Hewitson 1868) and is found from eastern DR Congo ( Democratic Republic of Congo) to Zimbabwe and Mozambique, northwards to Kenya ( Evans 1937a, Kielland 1990, Larsen 1991). In Tanzania, ssp. capenas is found in eastern Tanzania, while ssp. blanda Evans (1947) is in the west. This is a woodland species but is also found in more open formations and forest margins. TCEC found the food plant to be an unidentified grass ( Poaceae )—this appears to be the first confirmed record of a food plant for this species.

The leaf shelter of the mature caterpillar is made by rolling a leaf upwards, and tying it with silk strands, with feeding distal to this leaving the mid-rib bared ( Figure 1 View FIGURE 1 ). The mature caterpillar is pale green with a black dorsal plate T1, and a black, rugose head ( Figure 2 View FIGURE 2 ). The pupa is cylindrical, white and has two anterior projections angled outwards at right angles to the body ( Figure 3 View FIGURE 3 ). It is formed in a completely closed grass leaf tube shelter and attached at the cremaster.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Hesperiidae

Genus

Ampittia

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