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Aegilia sundascribens sp.
n.
Stictoptera
describens Walker;
sensu Holloway, 1976: 19, and Barlow, 1982: 91.
 
20-22mm. The species can only be distinguished externally from describens
by the sinuous, rather than straight, whitish submarginal line at the
forewing tornus, and even this character is not fully reliable. In the male
genitalia the socii are relatively massive, the apex of the dorsal arm of the
valve large, the basal process on the valve costa relatively small, and the
harpe is a single, rather central process. The aedeagus vesica has a single row
of slender spines that increase in size distad almost exponentially. The female
genitalia are as in Fig. 183, the elongate, sinuous ductus and the small oval
plate at the ostium being amongst the diagnostic characters.
The variation of the forewing facies in this and other species in the describens
complex (excluding indescribens) appears to be similar with about
half a dozen forms recognised, mostly named by Strand as aberrations of describens;
several of the Strand holotypes, however, belong to other species of the
complex as indicated. It is proposed here that these aberration names be applied
throughout the complex to facilitate cross-reference of variation from one
species to another (nomina collectiva).
The typical form (above) has no well defined forewing markings
apart from the submarginal at the tornus.
Ab. atrifascia Strand (papuascribens) has dark brown
patches: one apical, two discal, one central-dorsal, and one basal.
Ab. atrimaculata Strand (sundascribens) has a
longitudinal, central, dark brown streak (below).
Ab. semilunaris Strand (sundascribens) has a large, dark
brown crescent- shaped zone over the basal half (above).
Ab. patagiata Strand (sundascribens) (= describentis Strand)
has the basal half of the forewing rich brown in the male and cream colour in
the female (illustrated by Barlow, 1982, Plate 29:18).
Ab. xylinata Walker stat. n. has the forewings darker with
oblique pale zones on either side of the submarginal.
Ab. albosuffusa Strand (sundascribens) has the forewing
basal to the submarginal suffused grey in the male and white in the female
(below).
Holotype . BRUNEI: 1618m, Bukit
Retak,
montane forest, 25.4.1981 (Lt. Col. M.G. Allen) BM noctuid slide 11234.
Paratypes: 2, 1 BRUNEI, various localities (Allen), BM noctuid slides 11207,
11233, 11208.
Geographical range. Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo.
Habitat preference. On G. Kinabalu the species was infrequent at 1000m
and frequent at around 2000m. Records of Aegilia on the Mulu survey
ranged from the lowlands to upper montane forest on the transects of both G.
Mulu and G. Api; probably most were sundascribens but the majority of the
specimens were discarded after a field count. Material from Brunei was taken in
both lowland and upper montane forest.
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