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Sphrageidus virguncula Walker
comb. n.
Euproctis
virguncula Walker,
1855, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 4: 836.
Euproctis
marginalis Walker,
1856, Ibid. 7:1731.
Euproctis
virguncula javanica Strand,
1915, Gross-Schmett. Erde, 10: 333.
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Sphrageidus virguncula 
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Diagnosis. The combination of unmarked white wings and a yellow apical tuft to the
abdomen is diagnostic. The anterior edge of the male forewing and sometimes of
the hindwing is usually suffused with black on the underside.
Geographical range. Indian Subregion, Burma, Thailand, Sundaland.
Habitat preference. A single Bornean specimen (not retained) was noted as
reared from Anacardium (see below; unpublished IIE records) The
host-plant list includes many field crops, indicating the species is a pest and
occurs in open and disturbed habitats.
Biology. The larva of javanica was illustrated in Horsfield & Moore
(1859 [1860]). It is reddish brown with paired longitudinal yellow bars
dorsally on each segment except A1 and A2. The head is black with an inverted
white ‘V’, and the prothorax has a red collar. The larva of the generic type
species has a hump with the dorsal verrucae on A1 (Carter & Hargreaves,
1986).
The host-plants recorded (Horsfield & Moore, 1859 [1860]; Pholboon,
1965; Zhang, 1994; unpublished IIE records) include: Anacardium (Anacardiaceae);
Brassica (Cruciferae); Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae); Ricinus (Euphorbiaceae);
Cynodon, Oryza, Pennisetum, Sorghum, Triticum, Zea (Gramineae); Erythrina,
Medicago, Phaseolus, Trifolium, Vigna (Leguminosae); Hibiscus (Malvaceae);
Nelumbo (Nelumbonaceae); Ziziphus (Rhamnaceae); Camellia (Theaceae).
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