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Europlema
semibrunnea Pagenstecher comb n.
Epiplema semibrunnea Pagenstecher,
1888, Jb. nassau. Ver. Naturk., 37: 258.
Epiplema caesia Warren, 1897, Novit. zool., 4: 25, syn.
n.
Epiplema okinawana Matsumura,
1931, 6000 Insects Japan-Empire, p. 942, syn. n.
Diagnosis. The forewing has the anterior part a rather uniform grey with a punctate, rather than transverse or
lunulate, white discal spot; distal to this
there is a faintly darker grey, obtusely angled postmedial. The hindwing brown
is darker and duller than in desistaria, more as in the next species. The
male genitalia have the uncus very narrow, acute, the gnathus well developed.
The valves are long, narrow, slightly upcurved, with the basal processes
digitate, shorter than in desistaria. The aedeagus is somewhat more
robust than in related species. The female has a broad, slightly bilobed signum
opposed by a transverse band of small spines, both set centrally in the bursa.
The opening of the ductus seminalis is wide, partially ringed with
sclerotisation. The basal part of the bursa around it is sparsely scattered with
small spines.
Taxonomic notes. The holotype of semibrunnea has not been examined. The
illustration in the original description, though somewhat of a caricature, shows
the diagnostic forewing facies. The genitalia of okinawana Matsumura are
also consistent. The female genitalia of E. melanosticta (Mauritius;
males unknown), illustrated by Boudinot (1982), are very similar to those of semibrunnea.
Geographical range. Sulawesi,
Philippines, Borneo, Nicobar Is., India, Ryukyu Is., Taiwan, Fiji (instabilata
sensu Robinson (1975)), Queensland, Moluccas, New Guinea, Solomons, Vanuatu.
Habitat preference. Only
three Bornean specimens have been seen: a male and female from Labuan I. (the
female with a darker forewing than usual as in the holotype of caesia); a
male from secondary and coastal vegetation at Anduki in Brunei.
Biology. The larva in Taiwan was illustrated by Chen (1997). It is a pale, glossy
green with a darker translucent zone dorsolaterally and a more ochreous head.
There is a fine, dark dorsal line and a white lateral line.
The host-plant was Premna (Verbenaceae).
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