Artitropa boseae Saalmuller 1880

Artitropa boseae Saalmüller, 1880

Saalmüller (1880) described this species in the genus Hesperia, based on a single specimen from Madagascar with no further locality. It is a Madagascan endemic (Evans 1937, Lees et al. 2003). Evans (1937) lists material from Toamasina (= Tamatave, east coast) and Antsiranana (= Antakares at the northern tip) in the BMNH, and Viette (1956) adds Nosy Bé (off the north-west coast). ABRI collectors found it in rather drier situations than Artitropa sp. SCC01, which may explain why it is more widespread.

Life history. ABRI collectors found the early stages on an unidentified Dracaena sp. (same species as for Artitropa sp. SCC01) in the far north of Madagascar, which is likely to represent clade A of Buerki et al. (2009). The ovum (Figure 38.1) resembles those of other Artitropa spp. In the final instar caterpillar (Figure 38.2–3), the head is orange-brown, with black spots in the centre of the face over the apex of the adfrontals and adjacent epicranium, two on the front of the epicranium above and below this, one posterolaterally just below apex, and one laterally to the rear of the stemmata, making nine in total. The anal plate has a distinctive dark marking (Figure 38.2) and the wax glands appear to be continuous ventrally from the posterior margin A1 to the anterior margin of A8 (Figure 38.2–3). The pupa is unmarked pale green and typical in shape for Artitropa.