Eugnathia lunifera Moore comb. n.

Mestleta lunifera Moore, 1885, Lepid. Ceylon 3: 209.

Diagnosis

The facies is similar to that of xenia except the forewing costal band is a more uniform creamy colour and has a much straighter posterior border. The major darker areas of the wings are reddish brown rather than green. The valves of male genitalia have a slender process on the costa and a large, ribbed horn-like process more centrally.

Taxonomic note

Poole (1989) listed the species under Lophoruza. The valve ornamentation varies across the range of the species, with the length of the costal process short in a Sulawesi male (slide 20811) relative to that seen in a male from the Indian Subregion (slide 20810); the shape of the central process also varies, it being well developed in the only Bornean male (illustrated). The genitalia of the Bornean male are relatively larger than those from elsewhere in the range.

Geographical range

Indian Subregion, Japan (Ryukyu Is.; slide 21536),  Peninsular Malaysia (Barlow colln), Java (slide 21537), Borneo, Sulawesi.

Habitat preference

The only Bornean specimen (in FRC, Sepilok) seen is from the vicinity of Ranau in Sabah.

Biology

This species was reared by Bell (MS) in India. The larva is pubescent, lacking prolegs on A3 and A4, and has the highly looped resting posture of congeners. It has a fleshy dorsal horn on A8 directed backwards. Pupation is in a silken cell that incorporates particles of bark and is formed on the stem or trunk of a plant or tree.

The host plant recorded was Smilax (Smilacaceae).

Genitalia: