Zophopetes Mabille, 1904

Cock, Matthew J. W., Congdon, Colin E. & Collins, Steve C., 2014, Observations on the biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera). Part 6. Hesperiinae incertae sedis: palm feeders, Zootaxa 3831 (1), pp. 1-61 : 6

Zophopetes Mabille, 1904 (in Mabille 1903–1904)

This small genus has been considered to comprise five species of large skippers ( Ackery et al. 1995). Lindsey (1925) made Z. dysmephila (Trimen) the type species of the genus. All food plant records from this genus are from palms.

In the French West African literature on palm pests, early records of Z. dysmephila appear to have been misidentifications for Z. cerymica (Hewitson) , rather than Z. quaternata (Mabille) , which is closest in appearance (see below). Zophopetes cerymica replaces Z. dysmephila in more recent publications on palm pests ( Mariau et al. 1981, Mariau 2000, 2001), and the descriptions of the early stages (e.g. Mariau & Morin 1974) match Z. cerymica rather than Z. dysmephila . Thus, the records of Z. dysmephila from oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis ) at Anguédedou, Côte d’Ivoire ( Genty 1968), and as pests of oil palm and coconut in West Africa ( Mariau & Morin 1974) are considered to be of Z. cerymica . However, the record of Z. dysmephila from Phoenix reclinata at Lamto ( Vuattoux 1999), is referable to Z. quaternata ( Larsen 2005) .