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Craspedosis Butler
Type species: sobria Walker = ernestina Stoll, central
Indonesia.
Synonyms: Mniocera Butler (type species cincta Walker,
Timor); Xanthomima Warren (type species cyanoxantha Meyrick, New
Guinea) syn. n.
The confusion of taxa between Bracca, just discussed, and Craspedosis
was pointed out by Holloway (1984b). All taxa previously in Arycanda that
are not transferred to Bracca by Holloway (1991) are probably referable
to Craspedosis and include mainly the more delicate, blue-black
fasciated, blue species. Most of the species in Xanthomima, characterised
by yellow basal areas to both wings, are best placed in Craspedosis, though
one has been transferred to Bracca by Holloway (l984b, 1991). Milionia
tricolor Felder, a striking black species from New Guinea with a white band
on the forewing and a red one on the hindwing, also has typical Craspedosis male
genitalia and should be transferred to that genus, comb. n.: it was associated
(a lapsus!) with Cosmethis by Holloway (1984b). The facies variety is
probably due to participation in mimicry complexes of Lepidoptera seen in the
Australasian tropics, particularly New Guinea, with Bracca another
participant genus. The plesiomorphic facies may well be the light and dark blue
banded one with a pale, dull orange abdomen as seen in the more western taxa of Bracca,
and possibly an indication of relationship between the two genera. Other Craspedosis
species have white patches as in species of the arctiine genera Utetheisa
and Nyctemera, or transverse orange or yellow bars as in Milionia.
Craspedosis species are best recognised, and the genus is therefore best defined, on
features of the male genitalia which are very uniform within the group, indeed
do not provide reliable diagnostic characteristics at the specific level: a
narrow, apically bifid uncus; a long narrow valve with the costa modified having
a distal tapering process with a stout apical seta, and a central, elongate zone
of setae at the ventral edge; a small, tubular vesica to the aedeagus with a
lateral lobe bearing a cluster of half a dozen or so moderate, slender cornuti.
The sacculus is unmodified and there is no transverse sclerotised band to the
valve. The abdomen lacks a comb of setae on the third sternite.
In the female genitalia (C. arycandata Walker) the ostium is only
weakly sclerotised, funnel-like. The basal, tubular part of the bursa is
sclerotised and very regularly fluted, and there is a typical, dentate,
mushroom-like signum in the distal part of the bursa.
The male antennae are ciliate. A fovea is present on the forewing of
both sexes (D. Stüning in litt.).
The genus is very diverse in the Australasian tropics. There is only one
Bornean species. No records have been located for mainland Asia beyond
Peninsular Malaysia (FRIM collection).
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