|
Pilipectus
cyclopis Hampson
Pilipectus
cyclopis Hampson, 1912, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.,
21: 1234.
Pilipectus
cyclopis Hampson; Holloway, 1976: 36.
Diagnosis.
There is sexual dimorphism, males with white hindwings with the costa greyish
brown, and females with hindwings entirely greyish brown. The forewings are
distinctive, with pale reticulation on dark brown, a dull bluish patch in the
discal area and more blue on the margins.
Geographical
range. Indian Subregion, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Bali, Sulawesi.
Habitat
preference. All five recent records are from the lowlands (300m and below),
where the species is uncommon; three are from areas of undisturbed forest and
two from areas with secondary forest and open habitats.
Biology.
Bell (MS) reared the larva in India. It is cylindrical, with the prolegs on A3
absent and those on A4 slightly reduced. The head is a pale yellowish ochreous,
with tiny brown zig-zags on the vertex and laterally, and with the setae based
on small blackish tubercles. The body has the segments well defined and is
greenish white, lined finely longitudinally with white, though these lines are
indistinct against the ground colour. There are five lines on each side, from
subdorsal to supraspiracular; there is also a more wavy subspiracular line. The
spiracles are white, rimmed finely with light brown.
The
young larvae live stretched out under young, tender leaves. Pupation is on the
soil surface between two leaves lightly joined and lined with silk. The pupa has
no bloom.
The host
plant is Alseodaphne (Lauraceae).
<<Back
>>Forward <<Return
to Content Page
|
