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Arctornis submarginata
Walker
comb. n.
Redoa submarginata Walker,
1855, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 4: 826.
Diagnosis. The wings are a dull satiny white, the forewing with a small black
discal spot. The head has two blackish brown bars on the frons between the
antennal bases and dorsal part of the eyes that blur into each other. The palps
are basally and internally ochreous but grade blackish towards the apex. The
legs are spotted black in the usual places. The male genitalia have the uncus
well developed, tongue-like. The harpe has its apex diagnostically
asymmetrically expanded as illustrated.
Taxonomic notes. The only syntype male located (Silhet), has lost its abdomen but has
facies as above. Identity here is made with reference to a male from Darjeeling
(slide 2127) labelled by W.H.T. Tams as 'The true Leucoma submarginata Walker'.
The whereabouts of the other four syntypes (Silhet, E. Indies, Ceylon) is
unknown. The taxon transiens Walker, Treated currently as a synonym of submarginata,
was purportedly described from a Sarawak male collected by A.R. Wallace. The
specimen labelled as type in BMNH, though also collected by Wallace, is labelled
with his original label as being from the Aru Is. The genitalia (slide 2766) do
not match those of any Bornean species, though indicate a relationship with A.
clavimicruncus sp. n. and allies (See
A clavimicruncus sp.n). It is possible,
therefore, that this specimen has been incorrectly identified as the type of transiens,
or, as suggested by Collenette (1932: 52), the Aru specimen was
inadvertently mixed in with the Sarawak material Walker was studying. It is best
treated as Arctornis transiens Walker stat. rev. & comb. n.
with Aru regarded tentatively as type locality.
Geographical range. N.E. Himalaya, Borneo, Sumatra (Schintlmeister,
1994).
Habitat preference. Only three specimens have been taken in Borneo, one
from lowland forest at 100m in the Ulu Temburong of Brunei and two from stunted
hill forest at 900m on Bukit Monkobo, Sabah.
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