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Brunia
antica Walker comb. rev.
Lithosia
antica Walker, 1854, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 2:505.
Lithosia
brevipennis Walker, 1854, List
Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 2: 509.
Lithosia
natara Moore, 1859 [1860], Cat. Lepid. Insects Mus. E. Ind. Co., 2: 304.
Lithosia
intermixta Walker, 1864, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 31:
229.
Ilema
atrifrons Hampson, 1907, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (7), 19: 231, syn. n.
Eilema
kosemponensis Strand, 1917, Arch.
Naturgesch., (1916) 82 (A3): 113.
Lithosia
horishanella Matsumura, 1927, J.
Coll. Agric. Hokkaido Imp. Univ., 19 (1): 64.
Diagnosis. Males
have a uniform fawn forewing, sometimes slightly paler along the costa, whereas
females have the forewing grey, though not as dark as in B. apicalis Walker
(see B. apicalis Walker ), with a pale yellow costa. Both sexes resemble this and some Bornean
“Eilema “, so identity should be confirmed by dissection.
Taxonomic note. The
identity of this species was commented on by Inoue et al. (1982) and
Barnett, Emms & Holloway (1999), but not all type specimens of synonyms of brevipennis
according to Hampson (1900) had been dissected. Dissection has revealed that
the Sri Lankan taxa punctifera Hampson and fuscipes Hampson, both
based on females, are distinct (but best retained in“Eilema" until
their placement is investigated further), stat. rev., as is Hampson’s
ab. 1 from Sandakan (sandakana Draudt; see "Eilema"
sandakana Draudt stat. n.). However, atrifrons
Hampson from the Nicobar Is. has male genitalia typical of antica.
Geographical range. Indian
Subregion to China, Ryukyu Is., Chagos Is., Nicobar Is., Sundaland.
Habitat preference. This
is a lowland species, possibly most frequent in coastal vegetation, including
mangrove.
Biology. Piepers
& Snellen (1904) refer to the larva of natara as feeding on white
lichen on citrus near the coast of Java. It is densely covered with blackish and
grey-brown hairs, with long black hairs protruding from this. There is a black
dorsal stripe with red and ochreous yellow marbling on each side of it. There is
also a transverse black band towards the anterior. The body appears somewhat
flattened. Pupation is in a dense cocoon, with a period of about ten days for
completion.
Unpublished records at FRIM
note the larva as defoliating Hevea (Euphorbiaceae: rubber), but this
needs further investigation, as do records in Yunus & Ho (1980) for “E.
vacaria” (?= vicara Walker: see above) for Hevea, Terminalia (Combretaceae)
and Theobroma (Sterculiaceae), though these could apply to any of the
first three species treated here.
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