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Milionia
fulgida Vollenhoven
Milionia fulgida Vollenhoven, 1863, Tijdschr. Ent. 6:133.
Milionia fulgida ab. reducta Gaede, 1914, Int. Ent.
Zeitschr. 7: 353.
Milionia fulgida reducta Gaede;
Holloway, 1976: 84.
Diagnosis. This is the largest Bornean species, distinguished by lack of any orange
marking on the hindwing.
Taxonomic notes. The Bornean race reducta Gaede is larger than the typical Javan
one, with the iridescence on the hindwing deep bluish rather than greenish blue.
In the genitalia the digitate process on the valve is more robust in reducta,
the ventral group of spines on the sacculus more numerous, and the aedeagus
lacks the cornutus, present in typical fulgida. The species may belong to
a group that lacks banding on the hindwing but with a strong orange band on the
forewing. The digitate process by the valve costa is seen also in the New Guinea
species M. diva Rothschild and M. aroensis Rothschild but these
lack spines on the saccular area. In the Himalayan M. pulchrinervis Felder
the digitate process is absent but the saccular area is more as in fulgida with
a homologous group of spines in the basal position. M. philippinensis Rothschild
(Luzon) has similar facies but no digitate process and only a single group of
spines at the interior of a rather broad saccular sclerotisation.
Geographical range. Java, Borneo.
Habitat preference. On G. Kinabalu all specimens were taken at the Power
Station locality, at 1930m, during the 1965 survey. On G. Mulu the species
was abundant at 1790m in upper montane forest dominated by the conifer Dacrydium. The only other record is from 1680m on Bukit Pagon, Brunei.
Biology. The species comes to light at night but has not been observed flying by
day.
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