Actias selene Hübner

Echidna selene Hubner, 1806, Samml. exot. Schmett . 113.

Actias selene seitzi Kalis, 1934, Ent. Rundschau, 51: 210.

Actias selene miae Toxopeus, 1944, Treubia (hors serie): 146.

Actias selene vandenberghi Roepke, 1956, Tijdschr. Ent . 99: 23.

Actias selene Hubner; Allen, 1981: 112; Lampe, 1985: 9.

Diagnosis

Both sexes are a pale emerald green.

The species is smaller than the next, with shorter tails and faint yellow fasciae rather than brownish ones.

The forewing ocellus is dark brown in a crescent over the basal sector, rather than the distal one (maenas).

Taxonomic Notes

Only Sundanian nomenclature for selene is listed: vandenberghi is applicable to Sumatran material and seitzi (= miae) to Javan material.

Other synonyms are listed by Arora & Gupta (1979).

Geographical range

Afghanistan through the Indian Subregion to China and Korea, and south to Sundaland.

Habitat preference

The species is rare, only encountered in lowland forest, though in Sumatra it may be montane (W.A. Nassig, pers. comm.).

Biology

The Indian larva is illustrated by Horsfield & Moore (1858-1859). It is bright green with a narrow yellow stripe laterally.

Above and below this stripe there is a red spot or scolus on each segment.

T2 and T3 each bear a pair of conical processes dorsally; these have a red subapical band and bear numerous setae; a similar process occurs centrally on A8 but intervening segments bear setose red tubercles.

The anal segment is posteriorly broadly black.

Host-plants recorded (Arora & Gupta, 1979; Sevastopulo, 1940; Bell, MS) are: Lannea, Mangifera (Anacardiaceae); Terminalia (Combretaceae); Coriaria (Coriariaceae); Corylus (Corylaceae); Andromeda (Ericaceae); Quercus (Fagaceae); Juglans (Juglandaceae); Lawsonia (Lythraceae); Hibiscus (Malvaceae); Azadirachta, Cedrela (Meliaceae); Moringa (Moringaceae); Ligustrum (Oleaceae); Rhamnus (Rhamnaceae); Malus, Prunus, Pyrus (Rosaceae); Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae); Salix (Salicaceae).