A Revision of the African Species of Sesamia Guenée and related Genera (Agrotidae-Lepidoptera)

Abstract

The primary object of the work which is the subject of this paper was to clarify the confusion that has existed for many years in the nomenclature and taxonomy of certain important Agrotid borers of graminaceous crops in Africa.The genera involved are Spcia, Sciomesa, Poeonoma, Conicofrontia, Bussecla and Sesamia, and of these the first three are new and are described and the others are redescribed. A key to the genera and keys to the species of Sciomesa, Poeonoma and Sesamia are given. The genus Speia is erected for Phalaena vuteria Stoll; the name vuteria Stoll has been wrongly applied to the important pest of sugar-cane in Mauritius, which is, in fact, the well known Sesamia calamistis Hampson. Sciomesa is erected to contain three species previously included in Conicofrontia. Poeonoma also contains three species, of which one is Phragmatiphila serrata Hampson and the other two are new. Hampson's species Conicofrontia sesamoides is redescribed in Conicofrontia and is the only species of that genus dealt with in detail; Phragmatiphila bipartita Hampson is synonymised with it. In the genus Busseola, only the well known pest, B. fusca (Fuller) is described.

Phylogenetic analysis and systematics of the Acrapex unicolora Hampson species complex (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Apameini), with the description of five new species from the Afrotropics

“…The ten species treated here make up a morphologically homogeneous group; this contradicts the statement made by Tams & Bowden (1953) about the isolation of the genus Poecopa. Indeed, the male genitalia of A. mediopuncta show the typical male characteristics of the A. unicolora group, namely the short and broad valves, the coastal margin slightly broadened on the inner side and produced into a spine and the short and stout aedeagus with a hand-shaped vesica with needle-shaped cornutus.…”

History of the systematics of theSesamia sensulato group of African noctuid stem borers of monocotyledonous plants (Lepidoptera)

“…Th e work by Tams & Bowden (1953) and the subsequent one by Bowden (1956) mark a turning point in the African studies of noctuid stem borers. Th ese authors shed new light on the topic thanks to the observation of the genitalia, which enabled an easier separation of the species.…”

“…Th e fi rst use of genitalia was by Janse (1939), but in some cases he did not observe the types and made some mistakes. For instance, he attributed the name Sesamia calamistis Hampson 1910 to a diff erent species that was later named Sesamia jansei by Tams & Bowden in 1953; he also presented pictures of genitalia often in a profi le view that did not enable easy species identifi cation. Tams & Bowden (1953) checked the genitalia of many types in the British Museum, and presented them in a fashion that enabled, in most cases, a fairly easy determination of the species by fi eld entomologists.…”

“…In the Catalogue, this last author has put in synonymy Sesamia nonagrioides and Phalaena vuteria Stoll, which has priority, resulting in S. vuteria becoming the new species type of the genus Sesamia (Hampson 1910). Tams & Bowden (1953) showed that Phalaena vuteria was a diff erent species and did not belong at all to Sesamia and thus created the genus Speia Tams & Bowden 1953 (fi g. 3) for it. S. nonagrioides was then rehabilitated, as well as Sesamia madagascariensis Saalmüller 1891, which also had been sunk as a synonym of S. vuteria by Hampson (1910).…”

Alien insect species affecting agriculture and natural resources in Sudan

“…The latter is thought to be an indigenous pest, as it distributed primarily in northeast Africa and other neighboring countries in Mediterranean and Middle East regions (Tams andBowden, 1953 andSchmutterer, 1969). On the other hand, the Asian originated C. partellus occurs in several Asian countries (e.g., India, Pakistan and Sri-Lanka).…”