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Hypocala
deflorata Fabricius
Hypocala
deflorata Fabricius, 1794, Ent. Syst.,
3 (2): 127.
Hypocala
moorei Butler,
1892, Ann.
Mag. nat. Hist. (6), 10: 21.
Hypocala
australiae Butler,
1892, Ann.
Mag. nat. Hist. (6), 10: 21.
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Hypocala
deflorata
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Diagnosis.
This and the next two species have a more broken array of yellow on the hindwing.
The black border in deflorata has a more evenly curved inner margin and contains a
more linear, less circular yellow mark within this at the actual margin; these
features recur on the underside.
Taxonomic
note. Holloway (1977) reviewed the taxonomy of the species and
commented on its biogeography.
Geographical
range. Africa, Indian Subregion, China, Borneo; Queensland, Vanuatu, New
Caledonia, Rotuma, Fiji, Samoa and vagrant to Norfolk I. and New Zealand (ssp. australiae).
Habitat
preference. Only one Bornean specimen has been seen, taken at 1780m on G.
Mulu.
Biology.
The larva was described and illustrated by Moore (1884-1887; as ‘efflorescens’), and described by Gardner (1948a) and Bell (MS);
the last indicated it was very similar to that of H.
biarcuata Walker, a mainland Oriental species. The
head is green with a black line on each side of the head. The body is also
green, slightly bluish grey dorsally, this area bounded by three subdorsal,
parallel, wavy white or yellow lines. There is a
similarly triple band just above the spiracles and a narrow white band just
below them. The area over the spiracles between these lines is suffused purplish
or pink; this suffusion is more broken over anterior segments, and leads into a
more definite supraspiracular black band that is contiguous with the one on the
head, and extends ventrad to enclose the spiracles. The ventral surface is
green. Variants may be more greyish white with a smoky or pinkish tinge, and the
head may be more completely black.
The
larvae live on the undersides of leaves which they form into a slight cell with
silken webbing (also noted by Tominaga (2000) for young larvae of biarcuata).
On disturbance, a larva will lift up its head slightly and extrude a green fluid
from its mouth. Pupation is in the soil in a silken cell incorporating earth
particles and debris.
The host
plant is usually Diospyros (Ebenaceae; including subgenus Maba),
but other records (Comstock, 1966 (citing Hawaiian literature); Robinson et
al.,
2001) are from Pouteria
(Sapotaceae).
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