Cleora injectaria Walker

Boarmia injectaria Walker, 1860, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus. 21: 376.

Cleora injectaria Walker; Prout (1929 b) reviews races.

Cleora injectaria Walker; Holloway, 1976: 81.

Diagnosis

This is a relatively small, variable species with heavy discal markings. The commonest form has the males dull, dark brown and tends to predominate in coastal habitats. Those from inland, particularly from montane habitats, tend to be greyer. Females are generally much paler, often with a strong black medial band.

Taxonomic notes

Prout (1929) referred to C. processaria Walker as being of doubtful status. It is based on a female. A Himalayan male subsequently associated with it has genitalia very similar to C. injectaria. There is one Bornean female in the BMNH processaria series.

Geographical range

Indo-Australian tropics to Fiji and New Caledonia.

Habitat preference

The moth is most abundant in mangrove or estuarine habitats, but a distinctly greyer form was taken during the Mulu survey on the limestone G. Api, mostly in lower montane forest at 900m.

Biology

The mangrove habitat is reflected in the recorded host-plants for injectaria: Rhizophora (Rhizophoraceae), Avicennia (Verbenaceae), Excoecaria (Euphorbiaceae) and Xylocarpus (Meliaceae) (Pholboon, 1965; Murphy, 1990; unpublished IIE records, particularly from mangrove habitats in the Andamans).

Genitalia: