Antheraea assamensis Helfer

Antheraea assamensis Helfer, 1837, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 6: 43.

Antheraea brunnea van Eecke, 1922, Zool. Meded. Mus. Leiden, 6: 99.

Antheraea youngi Watson, 1915, Tijdschr. Ent., 58: 279.

Saturnia perotteti Guerin-Meneville, 1843, Mag. Zool. (2) 5 (9): 1.

Saturnia assama Westwood, 1848, Cabinet of Oriental Entomology, p. 41.

Antheraea mezankooria Moore, 1862, Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. (3), 1: 318,

Antheraea brunnea subvelata Bouvier, 1930, Bull. Hill Mus., Witley, 4: 92.

Antheraea assamensis mezops Bryk, 1944, Arkiv. Zool. 35A, 8: 7.

Antheraea assamensis rubigenea Toxopeus, 1940, Ent. Meded. Ned-Ind., 6: 14.

Antheraea assamensis youngi Watson; Allen, 1981: 117; Lampe, 1985: 12.

Diagnosis

The male is dark, rather purplish brown with slender, strongly falcate forewings.

The zone distal to the submarginal is distinctly paler on the forewing.

The female has prominent double white submarginals on a dark brown ground, that of the forewing broadening into a triangle at the apex, that of the hindwing looping round the ocellus anteriorly.

Taxonomic Notes

The name youngi as used here applies to all Sundanian populations of assamensis, distinguished by a darker, less rufous brown ground colour.

The taxon gschwandneri Niepelt, mentioned by Allen (1981), is referable to A. celebensis Watson rather than assamensis.

Geographical range

India, Burma, Sundaland.

Habitat preference

The species has been taken infrequently in lowland forests.

Biology

Arora & Gupta (1979) recorded the following host-plants for Indian assamensis: Cinnamomum, Laurus, Litsea, Persea (Lauraceae); Magnolia, Michelia (Magnoliaceae); Quercus (Fagaceae); Sarcostemma (Asclepiadaceae); Symplocos (Symplocaceae).