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1955
The Lepidopterists' Slews
13
THE SIXTH ABERRANT FEEDER IN JAPAN —SPINDASIS TAKANONIS (LYOENHXE)
by Tar6 Iwase
On p.45 of the Lepid. News (vol. 7; 1953) after having enumerated five aberrant feeders among Japanese lyoenid larvae, I added that the sixth, if any, and probably the last, aberrant feeder might be Spindasis takanonis Mats., of which the younger stages had been only partially studied. .
In May 1954, A. KAWAZOE discovered many mature larvae and pupae of Spmdasis on and under the' bark of the "red pines", Pinus densiflora Sieb. & Zucc, among the small brown "cocktailed" ants, Crematogaster laboriosa Smith. The larvae are fed mouth to mouth by the ants, like Japanese Niphanda fusca Brem. & Grey (see figure) or African Lachnocnema bibulus Fab. I confirmed this dietary habit in a glass jar. The larva has a dorsal honey-gland or glands, and a pair of lateral retractile tubercles.
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Larva of Niphanda fusca being fed by host ant by regurgitation. (Photo kindly provided by SAKAE TAMURA.)
Mr KAWAZOE pointed out that the larvae in a wild state nibbled some lichens and sphagna coating the trunks of the pines and even had a snack of a decayed cortex. He also induced the captive larvae to imbibe a solution of honey. The pupae were detected under the loose cocoon formed in cracks of the bark, attached by a cremaster, head downwards, without any cincture around the middle. When the colonies were disturbed the ants were said to become so excited that they cut off the silken pad at the anal end of the pupae, and carried them away or let them fall down on the
ground. _ ,. _ ^^^ i
In June the same year, quite independently of the above discovery, I. MORI and M FUTO succeeded in finding the larvae and pupae of Spindasis lurking in the nests of'the same "cocktailed" ants, under the bark and at the foot of Pinus thunbergu Pari ("black pine"), Prunus yedoensis Mats, (cherry tree), and Elceagnus umbelata Thunb. (silverberry). Another kind of ant, Camponotus herculeanus ssp., the large black patron of Niphanda, destroyed a pupa of Spindasis, they stated.
14
Iwase: Aberrant Feeder
Vol.9: no.l
Earlier, in July 1952, Mr. MORI observed females ovipositing on the sprigs of the "red pine" trees which the ants and their cows were frequenting. He bred the young larvae that hatched in July by a solution of honey for a few days until they died. Since this insect is single-brooded it seems to hibernate as a halfgrown larva.
The life-histories of Spindasis spp. (the "Silverlines" in India; the "Barred Blues" in Africa) have been described by various authors such as DE NlCEVlLLE, MOORE, Green, Kershaw, Takahashi, and Jackson. They are unanimous in that the larvae are associated with ants, mostly of genus Crematogaster. The larvae are often found on the bark of the formicated boles. They sometimes live in the cells spun for themselves, but usually in the ant-runs or under the sheds made by the ants. Most of the writers depicted Spindasis larvae as normally phytophagous:
S. vulcanus (India) on Plectronia (Rubiaceae), Xizyphus (Rhamnaceae), Allo-phylus (Sapindaceae), Clerodendron (Verbenaceae).
S. lohita (India, Ceylon, Hongkong) on Terminalia (Combretaceae). Psidium (Myrtaceae), Xylia, Acacia (Leguminosae), Grevillea (Proteaceae), Convolvulus (Con-volvulaceae), Henslowia (Santalaceae), Loranthus, Viscum (Loranthaceae), Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae).
S. nyassce (Africa) on Entada, Acacia (Leguminosae).
S. natalensis (Africa) on Vigna, Mundulea (Leguminosae).
S. mozambica (Africa) on Vigna (Leguminosae).
S. ella (Africa) on Mundulea (Leguminosae). The sole exception to this is JACKSON (1937), who alluded to the aberrant feeding habit of Spindasis nyassce as follows: "The mouth-parts are small and I am inclined to think fitted best for absorbing a secretion and that although it is able in the early stages to feed on the shoots (of Acacia) and even does so with some advantage, it is not the main source of food supply."
The vegetation listed as the larval fare is extraordinarily promiscuous and includes many trailing, climbing, or parasitic plants. This appears to be a proof that some of them are not the real foodstuff, but mistaken as such by the observers, or at least the casual ones. The adult Spindasis may on most occasions select the host plants not as their larval foods, but as the habitats of the associated ants. The larvae of this genus are not only attended by ants, but dependent on the latter. They are probably brought up by their nursing ants in many cases as in the case of the Japanese congener.
References
Davidson, J., T. R. Bell, & E. H. Aitken, 1896. The Butterflies of the North Canara
District of the Bombay Presidency. Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 10: 385-386. Hinton, H. E., 1951, Myrmecophilous Lycaenidae and other Lepidoptera—A summary.
Proc. So. Lond. Ent. Nat. Hist. Soc. 1949-50: 111-175. Jackson, T. H. E., 1937. The early stages of some African Lycaenidae with an account
of the larval habits. Trans. Roy. Ent. Soc. London 86: 216-218.
................, 1947. The early stages of some African Lycaenidae. Proc. Roy.
Ent. Soc. London (A) 22: 46-47. Kawazce, A., et al., 1954. Notes on larva and pupa of Spindasis takanonis (in Japanese).
Shin Konchu, vol. 7 (8): 24-26. Kershaw, J. C. W., 1907. The life-history of Spindasis lohita, Horsf. Trans. Ent. Soc.
London 55: 245-248. Murray, D. P., 1934. South African Butterflies: 83-90. Phinhey, E. C. G., 1949. Butterflies of Rhodesia: 104-105. Takahashi, R., 1929a. Insects that live with Crematogaster ants (in Japanese). Dobutsu-
gaku Zasshi 41: 127-128.
............, 1929b. Larva and pupa of a myrmecophilous Lycaenid, Aphnceus
kuyanianus Matsumura (in Japanese). Zephyrus 1: 57-58.
4, Shinhana-cho, Hongo, Tokyo, JAPAN