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Herochroma Swinhoe
Type species: baba Swinhoe, N.E. Himalaya, also Peninsular
Malaysia.
Synonyms: Archaeobalbis Prout (type species viridaria Moore,
India) syn. n.; Neobalbis Prout (type species elaearia Hampson,
Sikkim) syn. n.
The synonymy above expands on that established by Inoue (1992: 156). The
species have ciliate male antennae and wings that are densely speckled with
green on a straw-coloured ground. There are diffuse dark grey marks of irregular
intensity (weak between M3 and CuA1, strong on either side) in many species in
the spaces just distal to the crenulate green postmedial. In the typical group,
but not flavibasalis Warren comb. n. and allies, the discal spots
are small black dots. The discal marks are also black on the underside (that of
the hindwing lacking in the flavibasalis group) but the submarginal bands
can be black or dull red. The dorsal angle of the hindwing is somewhat produced
in males of Herochroma and most typical Archaeobalbis, more
rounded in the flavibasalis group.
The male abdomen has a pair of setal patches on the third sternite. The
genitalia have a number of definitive characteristics: strong, rather club-like,
laterally directed socii, with the uncus typically vestigial, but weak, bilobed
in the type species of Herochroma and Neobalbis and single,
digitate in the type species of Archaeobalbis; well developed transtillae
(not in the flavibasalis group); large, complex, partially divided
valves. In the flavibasalis group the socii are somewhat bifid, the juxta
has a quadrate distal process and the valves are narrow, tapering to the apex,
with basal and costal digitate processes: the eighth sternite is distally
sclerotised, sometime produced.
The females of viridaria and elaearia have the lamellae
vaginales
developed into a broad pocket.
The bursa is pyriform with a bicornute
signum, the ductus robust and sclerotised.
The genus is restricted to the Oriental tropics and subtropics, with six
species in Borneo.
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