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Lymantria
minora van
Eecke
Lymantria minora van Eecke, 1928, Zool. Meded. Leiden, 11:105.
Lymantria pendleburyi Collenette,
1932, Novit. zool., 38: 95.
Diagnosis. The uniform yellow hindwing and rather blocked pattern on a whitish
forewing of the male are diagnostic. The female is illustrated by Schintlmeister
(1994): it is whitish with pale grey banding on the forewing that broadens
towards the costa rather than towards the dorsum.
Geographical range. Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo.
Habitat preference. This is a frequent species of lowland forest.
Biology. The biology of minora is unknown, but that of the related
mainland Asian species (mathura, viola) has been described. Wang (1993)
illustrated the larva of mathura in Taiwan as variegated and finely
stippled with yellow and white on black, with reddish intersegmented membranes
posteriorly. There is more extensive white blotching just posterior to the head,
and more strongly yellowed dorsal tongue-like marks directed posteriorly in the
centre of the body. The dorsal verrucae stand out darker. The posterior
subdorsal verruca of A1 is striking, prominent according to Gardner (1938), who
provided a similar description of the larva in India.
Host-plants recorded by Wang were from the families Anacardiaceae,
Euphorbiaceae, Fagaceae, Hamamelidaceae, Rosaceae and Ulmaceae. Gardner noted Terminalia
(Combretaceae), Shorea (Dipterocarpaceae) and Quercus (Fagaceae).
Hutacherern & Tubtim (1995) recorded Mangifera (Anacardiaceae), Eugenia
(Myrtaceae) and Mitragyna (Rubiaceae) in Thailand.
T.R.D. Bell (MS) described the larva of viola in S. India. It
appears to be similar in appearance to that of mathura. Host-plants
recorded were Terminalia (Combretaceae), Xylia (Leguminosae) and Mussaenda
(Rubiaceae).
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