Butterflies and skippers of the afrotropical region

Misattributed to the Madagascar fauna by Mabille [1887] (Lees et al., 2003). Recorded erroneously from Nigeria (Larsen, 2005a).

“Male. Upperside f.w. post-discal band orange, moderately wide, not narrowing towards costa as it is in itumbana, therefore its shape is quite different, standing nearly perpendicularly on the costa; h.w. median white band comparatively wide, not convex in its outer border, widest near hind margin, its angle to the costa sharp as that of ssp. uluguru, but the band is wider. Underside as the upperside , but paler, slightly paler than in itumbana. Length of f.w. 33 mm. Female unknown.”

“Male. Upperside f.w. basal half reddish-brown, slightly paler than in ssp. itumbana; postdiscal orange band wide (as in normal itumbana); h.w. median white band more evenly tapering towards costal margin, its outer border not convex as it is itumbana, its position forms a sharper angle to the costa, with its upper end reaching costal margin closer to the apex of the wing. Markings on the underside as above, but distal part of wings paler. Length of f.w. 32.8 mm. Female. Not known.”

“Male. Forewing length 30 mm. The submarginal white spots on the forewing are more developed. The principle feature is the hindwing median band which is more ochreous yellow and is much more developed and radiates towards the margin unlike specimens from Zambia and Malawi. Female as male but forewing length 37 mm.”

“Eggs are laid in bunches or groups on the underside of the leaves of a species of Solanum. The newly-emerged larva is a greyish yellow or green, becoming pale greenish in the third stage, with the spines of first two and last three segments blackish or brownish; the remainder yellowish; lateral body line yellowish; head brownish with black inverted V in centre. Pupa white or creamy with usual black lines and dots.”

Eggs are laid in a single layer, with the individual eggs touching one another. The mean clutch size was 165 (n=20).

(Possibly) Zea species (Poaceae) [Kielland, 1990: 149].

(Presumably) Urera species (Urticaceae) [Kielland, 1990: 149].

“Male. Upperside f.w. pale spots of normal size, in the cell and discal area orange as in ssp. rubrobasalis; submarginal spot in space 4 white; h.w. median pale area orange and reduced by extension of the basal blackish patch which is larger than in other races, reaching over half-way to cell-end and reaching above origin of vein 2. Underside apical area of f.w and distal half of h.w. more or less as in ssp. acuta, but basal area not distinctly outlined in brown, only slightly darker than the median cream area; basal black spots more spaced. Length of f.w. 24.8 and 24.2 mm. No female is known from Oldeani.” (Kielland, 1990: 150).