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Heterostegane
urbica guichardi ssp. n.
Asthena urbica Swinhoe, 1885, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond.,
1885: 859.
Heterostegane
urbica guichardi
(paratype) |
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 8mm, 9mm. This is a small species heavily speckled with dark brown and
with the fasciae of the same colour narrow of even intensity. The postmedial is
crenulate, with lunules of pale ground colour distad to it on the forewings. Ssp. guichardi is much darker than most specimens of the typical race
through this heavy speckling. The fasciae are much more broadly and strongly
marked on the underside, where speckling does not occur and they stand out
against the rich fawn ground colour. The male genitalia of guichardi have
a strongly rounded dorsal margin to the ventral portion of the valve; in the
typical race it is straight. The aedeagus of guichardi has a comb of four
species at the apex that is lacking in the typical race.
Holotype
E.
SABAH: Kalabakan, 100m, 3-10.4.1973 (K.M. Guichard), BM geometrid slide
15640.
Paratype Data as holotype.
Geographical range. India, Sri Lanka, Burma; Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia,
Sumatra.
Habitat preference. The biotype of the type locality is unknown.
Biology. Bell (MS) has described the larva. It resembles that of H.
subtessellata, including the pink, bilobed apex to the anal shield. The
colour is rather glaucous green with a wide yellow subdorsal line and a white
band around the lateral flange. The segment margins are slightly yellowish.
Details of pupation and adult resting posture are as in subtessellata.
The host-plant was a climbing Acacia. The larvae are often found in
numbers and favour the young shoots.
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