Macroglossum heliophila Boisduval

Macroglossa heliophila Boisduval, 1875, Hist. nat. Insects. Spec. Gen. Lep., 1: 354.

Macroglossum heliophila Boisduval; Rothschild & Jordan, 1903: 645.

Diagnosis

This is the smallest species with a pale grey medial bar to the forewing (see diagnosis of M. mediovitta above). In the male genitalia the harpe is blunt, slender, and the aedeagus has a slender, tapering, long, apical process.

Taxonomic Notes

This species has been referred to in recent literature (eg.

Dupont & Roepke, 1941; Diehl, 1980) under its junior synonym fringilla Boisduval.

Moulds (1985) has clarified the matter and published a full synonymy.

Geographical range

Indo-Australian tropics.

Habitat preference

The single Bornean specimen seen is from Sarawak with no more precise locality data.

Biology

The early stages were described by Bell & Scott (1937) and Dupont & Roepke (1941). There are green, reddish brown and black forms of the fully grown larva, the green form having white granulation, a pale yellow dorsolateral stripe and a reddish horn (Dupont & Roepke). Early instars are blood red with honey yellow at the anterior and posterior (Bell & Scott), the red fading and the body becoming greener with growth.

Bell & Scott refer to a dark dorsal stripe, broken to a row of triangular spots in the final instar, but do not mention a dorsolateral stripe; the dark form has a bluish dorsal stripe.

The green form from Hong Kong is shown above.

Recorded host-plants (Bell & Scott; Dupont & Roepke; Miyata, 1983; Bascombe, in litt.) are: Morinda, Psychotria (Rubiaceae).