Apoprogones
| Apoprogoninae | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Sematuridae |
| Genus: |
Apoprogones Hampson, 1903 |
| Species: | A. hesperistis |
| Binomial name | |
|
Apoprogones hesperistis Hampson, 1903 |
|
| Diversity | |
| 1 species | |
| Synonyms | |
|
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Apoprogoninae is a subfamily of the moth family Sematuridae, represented by a single species from Swaziland, South Africa.
This species, Apoprogones hesperistis, is presumably the sister taxon of some or all South American Sematuridae but fresh collections are probably needed to use a DNA sequencing approach to this question. The moth measures 4 cm. in wingspan and previously placed in the Castniidae (Shields and Dvorak, 1979) but it was recognised by A.J.T. Janse (Janse, 1932) as belonging to this family.
A. hesperistis has strongly clubbed or hooked antennae, like a butterfly, giving it a skipper-like appearance (Shields and Dvorak, 1979), hence the species name. The hindwing is not tailed, unlike Sematurinae which have the veins "M2" and "M3" in the hindwing bearing tails (Minet and Scoble, 1999). The adult male moth has a pair of "hair pencils" at the base of the abdomen. On the head (in contrast to Sematurinae) the ocelli are absent and the compound eyes not hairy; the wing venation differs between subfamilies and the forewing "M1" vein is "free" as opposed to sharing a "stalk" with vein "R1" in Sematurinae (Minet and Scoble, 1999). These and other structural differences have been enough for some authors to consider the African and American groups distinct at family level.
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