Meza mabea Holland 1894

[Meza mabea (Holland)]
Parnara mabea Holland, 1894b: 92; pi. 3, fig. 12 (Ogove).
This skipper, thus far unrecorded from Liberia, should be sought there since Evans (1937: 126) lists specimens in the British Museum collection from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Carnegie Museum has only the type from Gabon.
Meza leucophaea bassa, new subspecies (Figs. 74, S genitalia, 78, 79, $ , 80, 81, 2 )
Male. — Upper surface similar to that of M. I. leucophaea (Holland. 1894b: 93; pi. 3, fig. 14 [Ogove], described as Parnara leucophaea) , but the spots are generally larger, particularly those in spaces M 3 -Cui and Cu 2 -A of the forewing and the discal pair of the hindwing; the fringes of the hindwing are gray-white, not clear white. The under surface differs from that of the nominate subspecies in that the hindwing from the cell to the margin is not so heavily overscaled with gray. Length of forewing of holotype from base to apex 15.5 mm. The male genitalia are indistinguishable from those of typical leucophaea.
Female. — All spots on the upper surface, except the subapical series, are larger than in typical leucophaea, especially the subquadrate spot in space Cui-Cu 2 of the forewing. The fringes of the hindwing are not strongly whitened. The graywhite overscaling of the hindwing beneath is less prominent toward the anal angle than in the nominate subspecies. Length of forewing of paratype from base to apex 17 mm.
Described from three specimens, two males and one female
Holotype <J — Harbel (Marshall Terr.), Liberia; 30-XI-1956; R. M. Fox; $ genitalic slide no. M-86 (Lee D. Miller).
Paratypes. — Same locality and collector, 1 2, 4-V-1955, 1 S, 26-11-1955.
The holotype and paratypes are in the collection of Carnegie Museum (C. M. Entomology Type Series No. 504).
These specimens have been compared with the types of M. I. leucophaea from Gabon and other specimens from Cameroon and Rio Muni in the Carnegie Museum collection. The differences cited in the description above will serve to characterize the two subspecies.

Meza mabea, the dark brown missile, is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and western Tanzania. The habitat consists of drier forests.

The larvae feed on Dalbergia heudelotti, Dalbergia oblongifolia and Baphia pubescens.