SUBFAMILY BAGISARINAE

Amyna axis Guenée (Plate 2, Figs 42, 56)

     Amyna axis Guenée, 1852, Hist. nat. Insectes, Spec. gén. Lépid., 5: 407.
     Perigera octo Guenée, 1852, Hist. nat. Insectes, Spec. gén. Lépid., 5: 233.
     Poaphila stricta Walker, 1858, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus.,
     14: 1476.
     Celaena flavigutta Walker, 1858, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus.,
     15: 1688.
     Celaena perfundens Walker, 1858, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus.,
     15: 1691.
     Ilattia cephusalis Walker, [1859] 1858, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br.
     Mus., 16: 209.
     Amyna colon Guenée, 1862, in Maillard, Notes Ile Reunion p. 37.
     Celaena obstructa Walker, 1862, J. Proc. Linn. Soc. (Zool.), 6: 189.
     Perigea vexabilis Wallengren, 1863, Wien. ent. Monatschr., 7: 148.
     Miana inornata Walker, 1865, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus.,
     32: 677.
     Perigea leucospila Walker, 1865, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus.,
     32: 683.
     Stridova albigutta Walker, 1869, Proc. nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgow, 1: 354.
     Erastria stigmatula Snellen, 1872, Tijdschr. Ent., 15: 55.
     Erastria bavia Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874, Reise öst. Fregatte Novara, pl. 108,
     p. 37.
     Segetia orbica Morrison, 1875, Proc. Boston Soc. nat. Hist., 17: 216.
     Amyna undulifera Butler, 1875, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (4), 16: 403.
     Chytoryza tecta Grote, 1876, Can. Ent., 8: 190.
     Botys monotretalis Mabille, 1879, Annls Soc. ent. Fr. (5), 9: 339.
     Perigea supplex Swinhoe, 1885, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 1885: 452.
     Berresa rufa Bethune-Baker, 1906, Novit. zool., 13: 199.
     Amyna octo Guenée; Holloway, 1976: 15.

Diagnosis. See the previous species. A small and inconspicuous fovea is present on the forewing of males but it is not as strongly developed as in natalis Walker (see below). It can best be viewed from the underside and is triangular in shape.

Taxonomic note. Reasons for using axis as senior synonym rather than the more commonly used octo are given by Edwards in Nielsen et al. (1996: 377), particularly the first reviser principle. There are several more localised Oriental species that have similar male genitalia to axis, particularly in the shape of the dorsal process of the valve. These are discussed under the next species.  A. crocosticta Hampson (Christmas I. in the Indian Ocean) may also belong to this group but has not been dissected.

Geographical range. Pantropical, including Pacific archipelagoes.

Habitat preference. Though rarely taken in recent surveys, this is probably a relatively common species of disturbed lowland habitats. Two specimens have been taken in an area of cultivation at Tuaran (10m) in Sabah, and singletons in secondary alluvial forest at 50m near G. Mulu and in disturbed forest at a similar altitude near Tutong in Brunei. Chey (1994) recorded three specimens in lowland softwood plantations near Brumas in Sabah.

Biology. The larvae were described by Gardner (1941, 1946a) and Sevastopulo (1944). The head and body are green, with a darker longitudinal line above the spiracles (Gardner). The granules on the head are small, with a few minute black specks. Sevastopulo referred to several longitudinal whitish lines and stripes and a few long black setae. The larva becomes tinged purple prior to pupation.

      Pupation is in an earthen cocoon in the soil. The cremaster is a double spine.

      Robinson et al. (2001) listed a wide range of host plants: Amaranthus, Celosia, Digera (Amaranthaceae); Cenopodium, Spinacia (Chenopodiaceae); Helianthus (Compositae); Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) Ricinus (Euphorbiaceae); Arachis, Crotalaria, Medicago, Phaseolus, Vigna (Leguminosae); Hibiscus (Malvaceae); Solanum (Solanaceae); Corchorus (Tiliaceae).

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