Many African species have a long life cycle, with only one flight annually. Same for the African Philotherma sordida. The caterpillars pupated last Spring (around the end of May) and then remained dormant until now. No need to go search for pictures of the caterpillars, I haven't published them yet. They will be in my next post. This attractive Lappet species has a wingspan in between six (males) and ten centimeter (females). So far the records of this species are scattered all over West and Central Africa. If all of these sightings are correct, then sordida occurs in Sierra Leone, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, the Central African Republic, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Malawi. Probably they are present in all countries in between as well, unless some of the older records are unreliable.
 |
| Philotherma sordida male - Origin: Uganda |
 |
| Philotherma sordida female - Origin: Uganda |
 |
| Philotherma sordida female - Origin: Uganda |
 |
| Philotherma sordida male - Origin: Uganda |
