Image of Antheraea celebensis Watson ♂ — ♂

Antheraea celebensis Watson

Antheraea rumphii celebensis Watson, 1915, Tijdschr. ent ., 58: 280.

Antheraea gschwandneri Niepelt, in Strand, 1918, Lep. Niepelt . 2, Nachtrag 1: plate 18.

Antheraea cordifolia sumatrana Niepelt, 1926, Int. ent. Z ., 20: 257.

Antheraea frithi javanensis Bouvier, 1928, Bull.Hill Mus ., Witley, 2: 137.

Antheraea frithi sensu Holloway, 1976: 85.

Antheraea celebensis Watson; Holloway, 1981: 124; Lampe, 1985: 12.

Diagnosis

This species has variegated grey-brown wings with a variable quantity of yellow highlights basal to the submarginals; this yellow is particularly evident in the forewing cell and subapically.

An extreme form from Tawau, Sabah, (illustrated) is more extensively yellow as in frithi Moore from mainland Asia.

See also the diagnosis of moultoni below.

Taxonomic Notes

This taxon is probably the sister-species of the mainland Asian A. frithi Moore, and the synonymy was discussed by Holloway (1981). The identity and relationship to celebensis of A. fickei Weymer from Sulawesi needs investigation.

No material referable to celebensis was taken in N. Sulawesi during Project Wallace, but there was a similar species with smaller ocelli that was common in montane forest: this may be fickei. There are also two taxa from the Moluccas, all based on females, that may prove to be conspecific and allied to celebensis when further material of both sexes has been collected.

These Moluccan taxa are: rumphii Boisduval (Amboina); buruensis Bouvier (Ceram, Buru). These taxa may be the most easterly representation of the true Antheraea. Sundanian material has less falcate forewings than typical celebensis; it could therefore be considered as A. celebensis geschwandneri Niepelt stat. n.

Geographical range

Sulawesi, Sundaland.

Habitat preference

The species is infrequent in lowland forest (Ulu Temburong, Brunei; Tawau, Sabah; lowlands of G. Mulu, Sarawak) and has been taken in the upper montane zone of G. Kinabalu and Bukit Retak.