Lyssa menoetius Hopffer

Nyctalemon menoetius Hopffer, 1856, Neue Schmett. Samml. Mus. Univ. Berlin, 2: 2.

Nyctalemon hector Walker, 1856, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 7 :1771.

Nyctalemon longicaudus Schaufuss, 1870, Nunquam Otiosus, 1: 13.

Nyctalemon menoetius sspp. celebensis and adspersus Regteren Altena, 1953 : 22-24.

Diagnosis

See Lyssa zampaButler.

Taxonomic Notes

Regteren Altena (1953, 1959)noted two subspecies in Borneo.

The typical race is found in most of Borneo and extends to the Philippines and Sangir whereas ssp. adspersus is restricted to a narrow zone along the east coast of Kalimantan (Sangkulirang - Samarinda - Balikpapan). The males of adspersus have the white bands of the forewing narrower and more suffused with grey.

Geographical range

Borneo, Philippines, Sangir; Sulawesi (ssp. celebensis). Two specimens have also been taken recently in the extreme south of Thailand, near the border with Malaysia, by I.J. Kitching.

Habitat preference

All records are from lowland forest.

Chey (1994), in his survey of lowland softwood plantations, only recorded the species in any frequency from secondary forest and a Eucalyptus deglupta plantation with a diverse secondary forest understorey.

Biology

The larva has been reared in Borneo by D.C. Lees, and is illustrated above.

When mature, it is black with a dull orange head and prolegs.

There are narrow white rings and transverse bars irregularly along the body as illustrated.

The wild host-plants were Omphalea bracteata and O. sargentii, though the larva would accept Endospermum peltatum in captivity.

Genitalia: