Phauda mahisa Moore

Phauda mahisa Moore, 1858-1859 [1860], Cat. lepid. Insects Mus. E. Ind. Co., 2: 329.

Diagnosis

This is a smaller, browner species than Phauda sp. 2031 with red more restricted, dull and diffuse.

Geographical range

Java, Bali, Borneo, Philippines.

Habitat preference

The only specimen seen is from Bidi in the lowlands of Sarawak.

Biology.

Piepers & Snellen (1902 [1903]) noted that the larvae resemble fresh bird droppings, glistening, marbled green and white, with a brown band dorsally that broadens to the anterior. The flanks are white or sometimes yellow. The abdominal prolegs are barely perceptible, so the larva superficially can resemble that of a limacodid. The pupa is golden-yellow, formed in a hard, sticky, yellow cocoon that is streaked with red and brown.

The host plants recorded were Ficus (Moraceae) and Terminalia (Combretaceae).

Genitalia: