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Mythimna
(Leucania) venalba Moore
Leucania venalba Moore, 1867, Proc. zoo1. Soc. Lond., 1867: 48.
Cirphis
philippensis Swinhoe, 1917, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist (8)., 19: 336.
Leucania
venalba Moore; Calora, 1966: 654; Holloway, 1976:9.
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Diagnosis. The
forewings are somewhat browner than in loreyi and roseilinea, with
CuA in the cell standing out paler but without a distinct pale spot at the
discal end. In the male genitalia the cucullus is rather elongate, and the harpe
has a distinctive, apically bifid spine arising from the ventral margin of its
base.
Geographical
range. Indo-Australian
tropics to Fiji and New Caledonia.
Habitat
preference. Like
M. separata and M. loreyi, this species has only
been taken at 2600m on G. Kinabalu, a single specimen.
Biology. Sevastopulo
(1945) described the larva. Early instars are initially grey, becoming green
when feeding, moving with a slight 'semi-looper' motion. The head is honey-colour.
There is a broad, double, purple-brown dorsal line, and a broad sublateral of
the same colour. The sublateral and ventral area is whitish. Later instars
become browner, with minute dark markings on a pale creamy yellow ground-colour.
There is a pale dorsal line edged by a dark brown line then, successively, lines
of pale purple brown, ground colour, purple-brown, ground colour, a narrow
brownish orange stripe edged purplish brown, ground colour, blackish-brown
centred with orange-brown, broad white centred with olive brown. The underparts
are pale olive brown.
The larva has been
recorded from various grasses and also rice (Oryza) (Robinson, 1975).
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