Lymantria brotea Porthetria Moore 

Porthetria lepcha* Moore, 1879, Descr. new Indian lepid. Insects Colln W.S Atkinson: 54.

Barhona carneola Moore, 1879, Descr. new Indian lepid. Insects Colln W.S. Atkinson: 56.

Lymantria galinara Swinhoe, 1903, Trans. ent. Soc. London, 1903: 490.

Diagnosis

Of the sequence of entirely creamy-white ground-coloured species that follow, this is the largest, the male forewing with rather more strongly arcuate and transverse fasciation, concentrated particularly just distal to the cell. The angle of the discal mark is rather shallow, and the marginal black marks are transversely linear rather than punctate or longitudinally linear. The female is immaculate apart from the discal mark and a pinkish suffusion towards the base of the hindwing.

Geographical Range

N.E. Himalaya, S. China, Indochina, Andamans, Sundaland.

Habitat Preference

Lowland to upper montane. The species is of similar frequency and distribution to narindra, the highest record being from 1670m on Bukit Pagon, Brunei.

Biology

There are host-plant records (Browne, 1968; unpublished IIE records) from *Shorea(*Dipterocarpaceae) and Sonneratia (Sonneratiaceae).

Taxonomic Note

Schintlmeister (2004b: 35-36) determined that the original illustration of Lymantria brotea Stoll was conspecific with L. galinara Swinhoe, despite the type localities of Ambon and Coromandel Coast (E. India) given by Stoll. The actual specimen used by Stoll for his description could not be located, so Schintlmeister designated the holotype of galinara as the neotype of Brotea, which thus becomes the nominotypical race from Sundaland, with lepcha Moore applicable to the race from N.E. Himalaya to S. China and Indochina. A new subspecies, L. brotea rudloffi Schintlmeister, was described from the Andaman Is.

Genitalia: