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Antheraea helferi Moore
Antheraea helferi Moore, in Horsfield & Moore, 1858-59: 397.
Antheraea
borneensis Moore, 1892, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (6), 9: 451.
Antheraea
imperator Watson, 1913, Notes Leyden Mus., 35: 184.
Antheraea
helferi javanensis Bouvier, 1930, Bull. Hill. Mus. Witley, 4: 91.
Antheraea
helferi borneensis Moore; Allen, 1981: 114; Holloway, 1982: 193; Lampe,
1985: 10.
Antheraea helferi 
(.65
natural size) |
Antheraea helferi 
(.65
natural size) |
Diagnosis. Both this and the next species have a black 'eyelid' to the
hindwing ocellus. The males of helferi are dull reddish orange, those of
diehli orange-yellow; the forewings are less falcate in the latter. The
male forewing submarginal fascia is obscure, double, brown in helferi,
prominent, single, black in diehli; the subbasal is more curved, less
oblique in diehli. In both sexes the hindwing medial is closely associated
with the ocellus in diehli but distanced from it in helferi. Further
features are given by Allen (1981) and Holloway (1982).
Taxonomic
notes. Holloway (1982) used borneensis as a subspecific name for
all Sundanian material. This arrangement is followed here but the
situation needs further investigation. Sundanian males are on the whole
larger, more suffused with pink over the anterior half of the forewing and
have the veins typically picked out darker than the ground colour.
Geographical range. N.E. Himalaya; Sundaland.
Habitat preference. Most specimens have been taken in lowland rainforest
but a single male was recorded at 1618m on Bukit Retak, Brunei (Allen,
1981).
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