Lymantria (Porthetria) ganara Moore

Lymantria ganara Moore, [1860] 1858-9, Cat. Lepid. Insects Mus. E. Ind. Co., 2: 344.

Diagnosis

Males are very lightly and evenly fasciated, and the hindwing has a distinctive blunt central angle to the margin. Both forewing and hindwing margins are similarly punctate with black. The female has a rather acute forewing apex and a rather greyish tone to both wings. The fasciation is weak, but there is a blackish shade at the centre of the forewing dorsum.

Geographical Range

S. Burma (Tenasserim), Sundaland, ?Thailand.

Schintlmeister (2004b: 37) placed L. xiaolingensis Chao as a subspecies of L. ganara, extending its range to S. China and Indochina. He also recorded ganara from the Philippines.

Habitat Preference

This is an uncommon species of lowland forest. During the Mulu survey it was commoner in heath (kerangas) forest.

Biology

The species has been recorded as feeding on Eugenia malaccensis (Myrtaceae) in Brunei (unpublished IIE records). There are also records from Bauhinia, Cassia (Leguminosae) and Casuarina (Casuarinaceae) in Thailand (Pholboon, 1965; Hutacherern & Tubtim, 1995) that may extend the distribution further north.

Taxonomic Note