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Pingasa
ruginaria Guenée
Hypochroma ruginaria Guenée,
1857, Hist. nat. Insectes, Spec. gen. Lep., 9: 278.
Hypochroma perfectaria Walker,
1860, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 21: 434.
Pingasa ruginaria andamanica Prout,
1916, Novit. zool., 23: 194.
Pingasa ruginaria pacifica Inoue,
1964, Kontyű, 32: 335.
Pingasa ruginaria Guenée; Holloway, 1976: 60.
Pingasa
ruginaria 
Pingasa
ruginaria Guenée |
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Diagnosis. This species resembles several of its congeners superficially but can
always be distinguished by the rather weakly crenulate postmedials that are
strongly sinuous on the hindwing and excavate centrally on the forewing so that
the white medial area bulges into the dark border.
Taxonomic notes. There are taxa in Africa that have been referred to ruginaria (e.g.
Pinhey, 1975) but are genitalically distinct. The oldest available names are commutata
Walker and communicans Walker, the former having page priority.
Geographical range. N. India, S.E. Asia, Ryukyu Is., Sundaland.
Habitat preference. This species is commonest in lowland localities,
particularly in areas of secondary forest, though it occurs with some frequency
also in primary forest. Occasional individuals are taken in montane zones, the
highest record being
from 2110m on G. Kinabalu. Chey (1994) recorded it commonly in lowland softwood
plantations and secondary forest in Sabah.
Biology. The larva has been described by Sevastopulo (1947a) and Singh
(1956), the latter giving a detailed account of the chaetotaxy. The skin
is invested with well separated, elongate, conical granules. The larva is
robust, cylindrical, pale green with a dark dorsal line, the thoracic segments
with a darker green lateral stripe. The abdominal segments have dorsal series of
white edged dark green chevrons, apices to the rear. There is a sublateral
yellowish white line. The ventral surface is a slightly darker green with a
medium white line and a series of white chevrons with the apices directed
forwards. The larva has been reared on several occasions in Hong Kong by Dr M.
J.
Bascombe and is illustrated as above.
Pupation is in a leaf
spun together.
Recorded host-plants are
(references above; Yunus & Ho, 1980;M.J. Bascombe pers. comm.; unpublished
IIE records); Rhus (Anacardiaceae); Liquidambar (Hamamelidaceae); Cinnamomum,
Litsea (Lauraceae); Crotalaria (Leguminosae); Nephelium (Sapindaceae);
Trema (Ulmaceae); also Sterculiaceae.
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