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Mythimna
(Acantholeucania) loreyi Duponchel
Noctua loreyi Duponchel, 1827, Lep. France 7:81.
Noctua caricis Treitschke, 1835, Schmett. Europ., 10.2: 91.
Leucania collecta Walker, 1856, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br.
Mus., 9: 105.
Leucania exterior Walker, 1856, Ibid. 9:106.
Leucania thoracica Walker, Ibid. 9: 106.
Leucania denotata Walker, 1856, Ibid. 9:107.
Leucania loreyi Duponchel; Calora, 1966: 665; Holloway, 1976: 8.
Diagnosis.
This species could be confused with M. venalba Moore and M. roseilinea
Walker, but is larger with a distinct white fleck at the discal end of CuA in
the forewing cell. On the forewing below the postmedial costal brown mark of the
other two species is absent in loreyi. The hindwing margin often has dark
brown marks on the veins; these are rarely seen in the other two species.
Geographical
range. Central and Southern Europe, Africa, throughout Indo-Australian
tropics and subtropics and east into the Pacific as far as Easter I.
Habitat
preference. All Bornean material has been from G. Kinabalu. The only
specimen with altitude recorded was from 2600m.
Biology.
Piepers & Snellen (1906) described the larva. It is smooth, typically
trifine, very variable in colour : grey-brown, marked with white and black;
reddish brown; yellowish brown. Longitudinal banding is present but also
variable. Young larvae were noted to have a 'semi-looper' style of locomotion.
Graminaceous
host-plants recorded are Oryza, Paspalum, Saccharum, Triticum, Zea (Piepers
& Snellen; Robinson, 1975; CIE Records), but Piepers & Snellen also
included Flacourtia (Flacourtiaceae).
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