Disparia diluta Hampson

Parafentonia sundana Roepke, 1944, Natuur. Maandbl. Maastricht . 34: 20

Disparia sundana Roepke; Kiriakoff 1968: 207.

Diagnosis

The triangular dark basal area, tinged bluish, on the forewing, and the pale rufous yellow colour of the rest of the wing and the hindwing, distinguish this species.

Taxonomic Notes

1. The distal margin of the forewing basal area is more extremely oblique than in Sumatran and Javan specimens, reaching to just beyond the centre of the dorsum rather than to just beyond one third. In the male genitalia the uncus is more robust and the gnathal processes larger, more produced and acute ventrally than in Sumatran males, which also lack the apical flap to the valve; the dorsal margin to the heavy transtilla is evenly curved rather than humped. Therefore a distinct subspecies may fly in Borneo, but it would be unwise to describe such a taxon on the basis of a single, possibly aberrant, male.
2. The species sundana is related to the Himalayan diluta Hampson and to variegata Wileman from Taiwan and Japan, both species having rather dull greyish-brown forewings with obscure markings. The forewing pattern of the Himalayan and S. Chinese obliquiplaga Moore is more akin to that of sundana but in obliquiplaga the male genitalia are very different: the uncus is slender, bifid; the gnathal processes are slender, tapering rather than axe-shaped; the valve costa bears two long, slender flaps; the aedeagus has two lateral processes.
3. The Burmese taxon diversipectinata Bryk, placed as a synonym of sundana by Kiriakoff (1968: 192), is probably a synonym of diluta Hampson.
4. Schintlmeister (1991 [1992], 1994) treated Disparia Nagano as a subgenus of Pseudofentonia, and placed sundana Roepke as a subspecies of diluta Hampson, suggested in Part 4 to be the closest relative of sundana, with variegata Wileman (Taiwan); variegata was also placed as a subspecies of diluta by Schintlmeister (1994b) together with the Chinese abraama Schaus and the Japanese sordida Wileman. The taxon diversipectinata Bryk (Burma), another potential synonym mentioned in Part 4, was included as synonym of diluta by S & P, who revived Disparia as a full genus. They also described the Bornean race of diluta as borneensis Schintlmeister and that from Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, S. Burma and S. Thailand as ssp. sumatrana Schintlmeister. These subspecies are based on minor differences in facies and the shape of the uncus, the valve apex and the aedeagus in the male genitalia.

Geographical range

Borneo, Sumatra, Java.

Habitat preference

The single Bornean specimen was taken at 1618 m in upper montane forest, Bukit Retak, Brunei.

It is montane in Sumatra and Java.

Genitalia: