Acada biseriata Mabille, 1893

This species is widely distributed in the Miombo woodland belt from Angola, through Zimbabwe, Zambia and southern DRC to Malawi, Mozambique and East Africa. In Tanzania it can expected wherever there is extensive Brachystegia woodland. Sevastopulo (1974) reports it common in Makardara and Marere Forests of the Shimba Hills, Kenya, throughout the year, and Larsen (1991) considers this one of the commonest of coastal skippers (e.g. very long museum series from Rabai), and found inland as far as Kibwezi and the Ukambani Hills. In spite of this, MJWC encountered it just once in more than four years.

Food plants

The food plant in Kenya was identified as Brachystegia sp. (Fabaceae) (Sevastopulo 1974, 1975, unpublished). The only Brachystegia sp. in Kenya is B. spiciformis (Beentje 1994), which is restricted to the coast. Sevastopulo (1974) points out that there must be other food plants as A. biseriatus occurs in the Makardara Forest in the absence of Brachystegia, and the same applies to the inland populations of A. biseriata from Kibwezi and the Ukambani Hills.

Independently, Pringle et al. (1994) gave the food plant as B. spiciformis citing R. Paré, and TCEC has reared it from the same food plant in Tanzania (Mufindi) and Zambia (Mutinondo). Subsequent authors are assumed to be repeating these published records: Kielland (1990), Larsen (1991), Ackery et al. (1995), Heath et al. (2002), Woodhall (2005).

Leaf shelters

Two leaflets are spun together to protect the older caterpillars. The final instar larva binds two leaves together, one below the other, the larva living and pupating in the space between. It is thus very difficult to find in the wild.

Caterpillar

“Head bronzy black, slightly indented above. Body green, a dark dorsal line due to the contents of the gut, otherwise unmarked. Anal flap flattened, the outline rounded. The first somite narrow, forming a neck.” (Sevastopulo unpublished). L5 head dark brown, no markings (ABRI specimens).

Pupa

“Pupa in a cell formed of two spun-together leaflets. Yellowish, the thorax and wing cases tinged with green. Prothoracic spiracle large, crescent shaped, reddish brown. Proboscis sheath reaching the middle of the 6 th abdominal somite ventrad. Cremaster triangular and fringed with a series of long, hooked, purplish spines, which are embedded in a slight silken pad. The pupa is not supported by any girdle.” Pupation took 11 days. (Sevastopulo unpublished).

There are three emerged pupae preserved in ABRI. They are 15, 15 and 16mm long; brown; front flattened, and a small bump anterior to each eye; spiracle T1 brown, slightly raised; proboscis projects 1 segment beyond wing cases.