|
Cosmophila
flava Fabricius comb. rev.
Noctua
flava Fabricius, 1775, Ent. Syst.,
p. 601.
Noctua
stigmatizans Fabricius, 1775, Ent. Syst.,
p. 601.
Xanthia
fimbriago Stephens, 1829, Illustr. Brit. Ent.,
3: 67.
Cosmophila
xanthindyma Boisduval, 1833, Faune ent. Madag. Lép. p.
94.
Cosmophila
indica Guenée, 1852, Hist. Nat. Insectes, Spec. gén. Lépid.
6:
396.
Cirroedia
variolosa Walker,
1857, List
Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 11: 750.
Cirroedia
edentata Walker,
1857, List
Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 11: 750.
Cosmophila
aurantiaca Prittwitz, 1867, Ent. Ver. Stettin,
28: 277.
Anomis
serrata Barnes & McDunnough, 1913, Contr. nat. Hist. Lep. N. Amer. 2
(4): 169.
 |
 |
Diagnosis.
This and the next species are very similar in facies. Whilst the males are easy
to distinguish by the bipectinate antennae in flava versus
fasciculate ones in lyona Swinhoe, females are less reliably separated on external
features. The females of flava generally have a distinct distal bulge to
the postemedial over the dorsal half, matching a similarly strong bulge over the
costal half, whereas in lyona this is only slight, the line being more
a combination of the lesser curvature of the anterior section. It is advisable
to confirm female classifications by dissection, where flava
has
a broader and more strongly bilobed sterigma; see also Sugi (2003).
Taxonomic
note. Poole (1989) included auragoides
Guenée
as a new synonym of flava, whereas Tams (1924a) treated it as distinct, probably the
African sister-species of lyona Swinhoe. As Tams examined the type
material, this is likely to be correct.
Geographical
range. The species is found throughout the tropics and subtropics and is
strongly migratory (Holloway, 1977), being found on remote Atlantic islands such
as Ascension and St. Helena, and extending eastwards to Pitcairn I. in the
Pacific (Holloway, 1990). Tams (1924a) recognised subspecies as follows: flava
in
the Old World; fimbriago in the New World.
Habitat
preference. Only one female has been recorded on recent surveys, from an
area of forest and secondary vegetation at Labi (30-60m) in the lowlands of
Brunei. The species is a known pest of malvaceous crops and would be expected to
occur with frequency in cultivated areas.
Biology.
The larva has been described by Moore (1884-1887), Sevastopulo (1939a), Gardner
(1947) and Bell (MS). The head is light orange-yellow. The body is dull greyish
grass-green, slightly darker dorsally. There is a broken dorsal white line (a
line of white spots), and similar but better defined lateral and supra-spiracular
lines with yellower green in between.
Pupation
is on the ground or in leaves in a loose cocoon. The pupa is without a bloom.
The host
plants listed by Robinson et al. (2001)
may apply to this species and / or to C. lyona Swinhoe discussed next, as the species
are easily confused: Bombax (Bombacaceae); Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae);
Anthyllis,
Phaseolus,
Vigna
(Leguminosae);
Abelmoschus,
Abutilon,
Alcea,
Althaea,
Gossypium,
Hibiscus,
Kydia,
Malvaciscus,
Sida
(Malvaceae).
The
adult is known as a fruit piercer in Thailand (Bänziger, 1982; Kuroko &
Lewvanich, 1993).
<<Back
>>Forward <<Return to Content Page
|
