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Birthosea
bisura Moore
comb. n.
Parasa bisura Moore, in Horsfield & Moore, 1859: 415.
Miresa orthosioides Walker,
1862, J. Linn. Soc. Lond. (Zool.) 6:143, syn. n.
Contheyla brunnea Swinhoe, 1904, Trans. ent. Soc. Lond., 1904:
153 syn. n.
Thosea bisura Moore; Hering, 1931: 714.
Birthosea
bisura 
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Birthosea
bisura  |
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Diagnosis. Both sexes could be confused with Birthamula chara Swinhoe, but
there is a dark chevron rather than an oblique line between the distal spot of
the forewing and the dorsum, and the dark submarginal is further from the margin
especially anteriorly. The male antennae are broadly bipectinate only to three
quarters. The genitalia are distinctive as mentioned in the generic account.
Taxonomic notes. The taxon Contheyla brunnea Swinhoe is represented by only the
Bornean holotype male, to which had been glued a lymantriid abdomen. External
features suggest the specimen is a rather worn bisura.
Geographical range. Sundaland, Thailand.
Habitat preference. The species is found in the lowland and is possibly
most frequent in cultivated areas where it is a minor pest of arboreal crops.
Biology. The shape of the larva has been described in the generic account. In
Peninsular Malaysia it is bright green, grading yellow towards the narrow blue
dorsal stripe which is itself paler centrally; on segment A3 there are two blue
rings, centred reddish, one on each side of the dorsal line (Wood, 1968).
Piepers & Snellen (1900) described the larva from Java, the type locality,
where the dorsal band is light brown or lilac. It was illustrated by Horsfield
& Moore (1859).
The host-plants recorded are Elaeis (Palmae) (Wood), Coffea (Rubiaceae),
Nephelium (Sapindaceae), Ricinus (Euphorbiaceae), Metroxylon (Palmae)
and Lagerstroemia (Lythraceae) (Piepers & Snellen). The species has
been reared from ginger (Zingiberaceae) in Peninsular Malaysia (A. Fox, pers.
comm.).
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