Mythimna (Acantholeucania) loreyi Duponchel

Noctua loreyi Duponchel, 1827, Lep. France 7:81.

Noctua caricis Treitschke, 1835, Schmett. Europ., 10.2: 91.

Leucania collecta Walker, 1856, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 9: 105.

Leucania exterior Walker, 1856, Ibid. 9:106.

Leucania thoracica Walker, Ibid . 9: 106.

Leucania denotata Walker, 1856, Ibid . 9:107.

Leucania loreyi Duponchel; Calora, 1966: 665; Holloway, 1976: 8.

Diagnosis

This species could be confused with M. venalba Moore and M. roseilinea Walker, but is larger with a distinct white fleck at the discal end of CuA in the forewing cell. On the forewing below the postmedial costal brown mark of the other two species is absent in loreyi. The hindwing margin often has dark brown marks on the veins; these are rarely seen in the other two species.

Geographical range

Central and Southern Europe, Africa, throughout Indo-Australian tropics and subtropics and east into the Pacific as far as Easter I.

Habitat preference

All Bornean material has been from G. Kinabalu. The only specimen with altitude recorded was from 2600m.

Biology

Piepers & Snellen (1906) described the larva. It is smooth, typically trifine, very variable in colour: grey-brown, marked with white and black; reddish brown; yellowish brown. Longitudinal banding is present but also variable. Young larvae were noted to have a ‘semi-looper’ style of locomotion.

Graminaceous host-plants recorded are Oryza, Paspalum, Saccharum, Triticum, Zea (Piepers & Snellen; Robinson, 1975; CIE Records), but Piepers & Snellen also included Flacourtia (Flacourtiaceae).

Genitalia: