Ampittia Moore, 1881

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

Ampittia Moore, 1881 (in Moore 1880 –1882)

This genus is found in Africa, where it is represented by three species: A. parvus Aurivillius , A. capenas (Hewitson) and A. kilombero Larsen & Congdon , and Asia, where there are at least five species ( Evans 1949). The type species is A. maro (Fabricius) , a synonym of A. dioscoroides (Fabricius) , which is an Indian species.

The biology of the type species has long been known. Thus, Davidson et al. (1897) describe and illustrate the early stages of A. dioscoroides (as A. maro ) from around Bombay ( Mumbai), where it feeds on rice and grasses, and Bell (1925) gives a very detailed description of the full life history. Bell (1925) states that the ovum is 0.9 x 0.6mm wide x high, “sculptured with 24 meridional ridges from base up to more than three-quarters the height”. Davidson et al. (1897) record that on the pupa “between the eyes in front of the head are two conical excrescences which overhang the eyes somewhat, the two together having the appearance of a small crescent, the horns of which point forwards”. They also observe that the caterpillar “lives absolutely in the open when full-grown. Pupa forms on the stems of grass, or rice, with its head downwards.” Bascombe et al. (1999) illustrate the life history from Hong-Kong.