Cechenena helops Walker

Philampelus helops Walker, 1856, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln. Br. Mus 8: 180.

Cechenena helops Walker; Rothschild & Jordan, 1903: 801.

Diagnosis

The mottled grey-green forewings with the round, dark green subbasal patch are diagnostic.

Geographical range

N. India to Bismarck Is.

Habitat preference

The species is less frequent than lineosa but has been taken in the same range of localities.

Biology

The larva was described by Dupont & Roepke (1941). The young larva is green with pale yellow dots and a pair of ocelli on A1. The mature larva is greyish brown speckled dark brown.

White lines run from the ocelli to the head.

The short horn is downcurved, dark brown, granulated with white tubercles.

The host-plant recorded was Tetrastigma (Vitidaceae).

Taxonomic Note

The mature larva and metamorphosis of C. helops was illustrated and described by Leong & Aminurashid (2008), adding much more detail to the brief description in Part 3. The prepupal larva was orange-brown with an angular lateral expansion on each side of the thoracic region, giving prominence to the pair of ocelli at the anterior of A1 abutting the margin of T3. These ocelli were linked by a darker brown transverse bar. This is bisected by a fine dark brown dorsal line that runs from the top of the head to along the horn on A8, though fades somewhat just prior to the horn. The larva was found making a shelter for pupation by pulling together leaves of Melastoma (Melastomataceae) with silken threads. The authors noted that all host records have been from Tetrastigma (Vitaceae).