Phaudidae

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The position of Phauda Walker and allied genera was reviewed by Fänger, Yen & Naumann (1999), who concluded that they possibly should be regarded as comprising a good family, Phaudidae, rather than as subfamily Phaudinae of the Zygaenidae. This group was referred to as such by Fänger (1999) but not by Yen et al. (2005). The family status was subsequently endorsed by the molecular analysis of Niehuis et al. (2006) and in the system of Nieukerken et al. (in press). The group shows closer affinities with the Lacturidae than with the Zygaenidae in characters of both adults and immatures, and was paired with Lactura Walker amongst the outgroups applied in the analysis of chalcosiine relationships by Yen et al. (2005) and in the molecular analysis of Niehuis et al. (2006). The group shares with the Lacturidae: the presence of paired long coremata in the male between A8 and the genitalia, attached to sclerotised platelets on the intersegmental membrane; a ductus bursae that is spiralled in the middle (spiralling is present also in some Limacodidae, as described in the treatment of that family in Part 1 of this series and discussed by Epstein et al. in Kristensen (1998)); secondary setae are absent from the larvae (also in most Chalcosiinae; Yen et al. (2005)). Yen et al. cautioned that the monophyly of the Phaudidae and of the Lacturidae still required confirmation, so the possibility remained that the two groups would eventually have to be merged.

The Phaudidae and Lacturidae share also a number of features with the limacodid-group of families (Fänger et al., 1999): reduced stema on A8 and A9 of the larva, together with reduction of the anal plate; reduced larval proleg length; reduction of proboscis length in the pupa and adult; absence of adult ocelli; dense sensilla trichodea beneath the fifth tarsomere of the female; and possibly division of the mesoseries of crochets on the anal proleg into two groups. Several of these features also define the Phauda/Lactura pairing in the analysis of Yen et al. (2005), which did not include exemplars from the limacodid-group of families of Epstein (1996). The more complete analysis of Mutanen ef al. (2010) placed the Phaudidae, Lacturidae, Heterogynidae and Dalceridae in a clade that is sister to the Zygaenidae, though the analysis of Regier et al. (2009), with a smaller sample of groups, yielded a different structure (Fig 2).

Figure 2: Diagram of relationships between Zygaenoidea, Cossoidea and Sesioidea from the analysis of of Mutanen et al. (2010) with that for Zygaenoidea groups from the analysis of Reiger et al. (2009) to show the differences in structure.
Figure 2: Diagram of relationships between Zygaenoidea, Cossoidea and Sesioidea from the analysis of of Mutanen *et al.* (2010) with that for Zygaenoidea groups from the analysis of Reiger *et al.* (2009) to show the differences in structure. In the main tree all zygaenoid groups sampled are shown, with those represented in Borneo shown in **bold**. The rest of the diagram is restricted to those groups of Cossidea (C) and Sesioidea (S) that do occur in Borneo. * The Anomoeotidae are now placed as a subfamily of the Himantopteridae, and Metarbelinae are raised to full family status by Nieukerke *et al.* (*in press*).

The wings are long, narrow, the forewings rather rounded distally, the hindwings more acute. The colour is variously dull red, brown and more blackish, the body tending to be predominantly black. The abdomen is distinctly tufted with hair scales, particularly associated with the corematous appendages in the male of Phauda. The antennae are apically acute, bipectinate in the male, biserrate in the female (Epstein et al. in Kristensen (1998)). The chaetosema on each side is orbicular with loosely arranged sensilla, and located in a position posterodorsal to the antenna base (Yen et al., 2005).

In the forewing, all veins rise independently from the cell in some species; in others R4 and R5 are stalked or completely fused. In the hindwing, CuA2 converges on CuP. It fuses with it before reaching the margin in Phauda and approaches close to it or meets it in Alophogaster Hampson, but converges only slightly and is well separate at the margin in the third Oriental genus, Phaudopsis Hampson (type species igneola Hampson, N.E. Himalaya). The male antennae in Phaudopsis are strongly bipectinate.

The male genitalia are typically as described for Phauda and Alophogaster below. The female genitalia have, as stated above, a spiralled section in the ductus bursae. The male abdomen of the type species of Phaudopsis is distinctive. There are hair-pencils on small coremata between A5 and A4, and A4 and A3; the eighth tergite is distally more heavily sclerotised, but the sternite is membranous and without an apodeme. The genitalia (Fig 14) have the uncus and tegumen reduced, membranous, but the vinculum is a strongly sclerotised but narrow semicircle. The distal part of the valve is a slender, outcurved blade. The aedeagus is slender, its basal bulb giving rise to conspicuous lateral flanges; it passes through a narrow anellus in a large juxta that is ventrally broad, and extends dorsally on either side of the anellus in the form of a pair of digitate processes.

The larva of Phauda (Fänger et al., 1999), in at least the final instar, is unusual in having an extracuticular tergal cap consisting of silken webbing that contains numerous small spherical cells and hardened incrustations. This is of obscure function, and it is unclear how it is formed or whether it occurs in earlier instars.

The last instar is glossy brownish white and resembles a bird dropping. Primary setae are minute and are not borne on pinacula or chalazae; secondary setae are absent. See also the generic account for the larva of the type species and a colour illustration in Yen et al. (2005).


Genera (2)

Species (4)


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