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Nygmia xanthomela
Walker
comb. rev.
Euproctis
xanthomela Walker,
1862, J. Linn. Soc. (Zool.), 6:128.
Euproctis
atomaria Walker,
1855, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 4: 837,
praeocc.,
syn. n.
Euproctis
catala Swinhoe,
1902, Trans. ent. Soc. London, 1903: 416, syn. n.
Euproctis
catala postlutosa Holloway,
1982: 219, syn. n.
Euproctis
plana Walker
sensu Schintlmeister, 1994:121.
Diagnosis. The male facies is similar to that of semifumosa Holloway and amplior
Collenette, discussed later. The forewing is evenly and lightly suffused
with darker scales, except where these intensify diffusely in the postmedial and
antemedial. The male genitalia are diagnostic, with the valves bifid and the
juxta broad, oval, undivided (in amplior the valve is undivided and the
juxta is bifid). There are unusual ‘socii’ on the tegumen, or possibly these
are derived from a dorsal extension of the valve.
Taxonomic note. The synonymy above brings together all Sundanian taxa with similar
genitalia, but having a variable extent of grey shading on the hindwing, this
being absent in ssp. catala and more extensive in ssp. postlutosa. The
Indian species N. plana Walker comb. rev, is related, but has the
dorsal arm of the valve (excluding the ‘socius’) longer than the ventral
one, rather than vice versa (in ssp. catala they are more equal).
Toxopeus (1948) suggested that xanthomela and catala (with plana)
were subspecies of the type species, icilia Stoll (Indian Subregion),
but this has broader arms to the valve and no ‘socii’.
Geographical range. Borneo; Java, Sumatra (ssp. catala); Peninsular
Malaysia (ssp. postlutosa).
Habitat preference. The species has been taken singly or in small numbers
in a range of lowland forest types. There are single records at 1000m on G. Mulu
and at 1618m on Bukit Retak.
Biology. Moore (in Horsfield & Moore, 1859 [1860]) illustrated the larva of
ssp. catala (as atomaria). It appears dark brownish grey with a
broad grey dorsal band from A3 backwards between the most dorsal rows of
verrucae. The verrucae are depicted distinctly darker. The head is yellowish.
There is a conspicuous black semicircle dorsally on T3, the curved edge
anteriorly, lined narrowly with white. Kalshoven (1981) illustrated the larva as
having paired dorsal humps on A1, A2 and A8.
The host-plants given were Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae), Annona (Annonaceae)
and Tamarindus (Leguminosae), but Toxopeus, who also
mentioned
Citrus (Rutaceae), suggested these were erroneous, and probably records
of pupation sites in non-host plants. He indicated that Loranthus (Loranthaceae)
was the only reliably identified host, and this was the only host listed for the
species by Kalshoven (1981). Pholboon (1965) recorded plana as
feeding on Loranthus in Thailand.
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