Birthosea bisura Moore comb. n.

Parasa bisura Moore, in Horsfield & Moore, 1859: 415.

Miresa orthosioides Walker, 1862, J. Linn. Soc. Lond. (Zool.) 6:143, syn. n.

Contheyla brunnea Swinhoe, 1904, Trans. ent. Soc. Lond., 1904: 153 syn. n.

Thosea bisura Moore; Hering, 1931: 714.

Diagnosis

Both sexes could be confused with Birthamula chara Swinhoe, but there is a dark chevron rather than an oblique line between the distal spot of the forewing and the dorsum, and the dark submarginal is further from the margin especially anteriorly. The male antennae are broadly bipectinate only to three quarters. The genitalia are distinctive as mentioned in the generic account.

Taxonomic Notes

The taxon Contheyla brunnea Swinhoe is represented by only the Bornean holotype male, to which had been glued a lymantriid abdomen. External features suggest the specimen is a rather worn bisura.

Geographical Range

Sundaland, Thailand.

Habitat Preference

The species is found in the lowland and is possibly most frequent in cultivated areas where it is a minor pest of arboreal crops.

Biology

The shape of the larva has been described in the generic account. In Peninsular Malaysia it is bright green, grading yellow towards the narrow blue dorsal stripe which is itself paler centrally; on segment A3 there are two blue rings, centred reddish, one on each side of the dorsal line (Wood, 1968). Piepers & Snellen (1900) described the larva from Java, the type locality, where the dorsal band is light brown or lilac. It was illustrated by Horsfield & Moore (1859). The host-plants recorded are Elaeis (Palmae) (Wood), Coffea (Rubiaceae), Nephelium (Sapindaceae), Ricinus (Euphorbiaceae), Metroxylon (Palmae) and Lagerstroemia (Lythraceae) (Piepers & Snellen). The species has been reared from ginger (Zingiberaceae) in Peninsular Malaysia (A. Fox, pers. comm.).