|
Subgenus Ploneta Snellen stat. n.
Type species: diducta Snellen.
Sexual dimorphism is extreme, females tending to have uniform brown forewings
and the smaller males having a fine, paler submarginal on generally darker
ground. The males of the type species have the forewing venation distorted by an
infolding of the margin, an autapomorphy.
In the male genitalia the uncus and gnathus are more or less fused
together, the dark scales reduced or lost. The Sundanian trio (diducta Snellen,
flavina Hering and bradleyi sp. n.) have prominent socii from the
tegumen. The costal process to the valve is not as sclerotised as in other
subgenera, more cylindrical than flattened, and runs dorsal to the costa rather
than down across the interior face of the valve.
The female genitalia have the ductus straight, relatively short. The
bursa contains a narrow, transverse, slightly bilobed signum in diducta and
an undescribed Indian species (slide 733) but is immaculate in bradleyi and
jasea Swinhoe.
The larva of P. diducta is described in the specific account. The
larva of one of the Indian group, jasea Swinhoe, was described by Bell
(MS) but misidentified as Natada (Parasa?) unicolor Moore, a species that
should be transferred to Aphendala, comb. n. It is slug-like,
wood-louse shaped, T1 pale orange with a shining blackish diamond shaped
depression anteriorly, dorsally, that is bisected by a thin white line. The
lateral tubercles are even in length (1.5mm), directed out from the margin
horizontally, and perpendicularly to the surface of origin. Those on T3, A2 and
A7 are lilac and those in between translucent green as is the area surrounding
them; the rest are colourless. The dorsolaterals are complete, shorter than the
laterals, those from A3 to A6 little apricot yellow buttons with lilac spines,
the rest colourless, somewhat longer. The ground colour is light violet,
sometimes veined with white, with a lateral semicircular green patch from A3 to
A6 that reaches the dorsolateral tubercle on A5. There is a thin white dorsal
line traversed by thin white lines across each segment before and behind the
tubercle bases; these excluded from the green semicircle. Bell noted variations
of this theme. The host-plant was not given. This description matches those for diducta
and bradleyi closely.
<<Back
>>Forward <<Return
to Contents page
|
