|
Calyptra
minuticornis Guenée
Calpe minuticornis Guenée,
1852, Hist.
nat. Insectes, Spec. gén. Lépid., 6: 374.
Calpe
novaepommeraniae Strand,
1919, Arch.
Naturgesch., 83A (10): 143.
Calpe minuticornis Guenée;
Holloway, 1976: 38.
Diagnosis.
The forewing shape and facies are typical of the genus, the latter a slightly
rippled brown-grey with transverse pale striae and an oblique darkwith-pale
postmedial.
Geographical
range. Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Java, Borneo;
New Guinea, Bismarcks, Queensland (ssp. novaepommeraniae);
Sulawesi, Timor (intermediate).
Habitat
preference. Only two specimens have been taken in recent surveys: one in
disturbed alluvial forest at Long Pala (70m) near G. Mulu and one at Kundasan
(1110m), a zone of cultivation on the southern slopes of G. Kinabalu.
Biology.
The larva was illustrated by Moore (1884-1887) and Common (1990), and described
by Gardner (1947) and possibly by Bell (MS). It has an orange head and a mainly
black body that is marked with yellowish white longitudinally with a strong
dorsal band and weaker dorsolateral ones that incorporate a speckling of black
except at their edges. The true legs and prolegs are a similar pale yellow, with
yellow spots just dorsal to each, displaced posteriorly to the true legs and
less markedly so for the prolegs. The prolegs on A3 are vestigial, the rest well
developed. The larva has a semi-looping posture. Bell described the colour as
olive-green with black banding and a row of yellow spots along the dorsolateral
band. This may represent another of the very similar species discussed by Bänziger
(1983). Moore (1884-1887) described the larva as olive-grey with a subdorsal row
of black-bordered yellow spots and dots, and a sublateral row of small yellow
spots that is set in a pinkish-bordered black band from A1 back; the head is
ochreous yellow with a lateral black spot.
The host
plants recorded by these authors and Robinson et
al. (2001)
are Cissampelos,
Cocculus,
Cyclea
and
Stephania
(Menispermaceae).
The
adult is recorded as sucking mammalian blood in south-east Asia (Bänziger,
1986).
<<Back
>>Forward <<Return to Content Page
|
