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Europlema
nivosaria Walker comb. n.
Erosia nivosaria Walker, 1866, List Specimens lepid. Insects
Colln Br. Mus., 35: 1644.
Erosia paucifera Walker, 1866, Ibid., 35: 1648.
Diagnosis. The ground colour is white, marked finely with ochreous yellow and dark
brown. The forewing has a shallow marginal mark as in congeners, and there is a
prominent dark discal spot, part of a broken medial band. The species lacks the
general brown suffusion of the forewing and posterior rufous zone on the
hindwing seen in Bornean congeners.
Taxonomic notes. The only Bornean specimen seen is a female, somewhat more heavily marked
than material from further east, and somewhat more clouded with fine brown
striae. More material is needed to clarify the status of the Bornean population.
The genitalia illustrated are from a Sula Is. specimen.
Geographical range. Mysol, Hainan, Taiwan, Borneo, Sula Is., Sangihe,
Talaut, New Guinea, Bismarcks.
Habitat preference. One specimen, taken in 1950, is labelled as from the
Segawa (Segama) River, 50miles upstream and 12 miles south of Dewhurst Bay in
Sabah. This is a lowland locality, probably not far from the Danum Valley Field
Centre. Chey (1994) also recorded a singleton from a Gmelina arborea plantation
in the lowlands of Sabah.
Biology. Chen (1997) noted this species as feeding on Premna (Verbenaceae)
in Taiwan. His illustration of the larva is similar to that of congeners.
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