Plusia nigriluna Walker

Plusia nigriluna Walker, 1857, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br.Mus. 12: 931.

Plusia nigriluna Walker; Holloway, 1976: 32.

Diagnosis

See Argyrogramma signata and Plusiopalpa adrasta. The hind-wings have a basal pale zone.

Taxonomic Notes

In the Australasian tropics there is possibly a complex of species: the names rubriflabellata Prout (Goodenough Is., New Guinea) and didymospilaTurner (Queensland) are involved. P. rubriflabellata has a more bulbous saccus, a valve of more even width, and a more complex distal lobe to the aedeagus vesica than in nigriluna. In facies and in the relatively short and lobed aedeagus vesica the complex is similar to Plusiopalpa, but there is only a single corema on sternite 8 of the male abdomen instead of two, and there are no lateral ones between segments 7 and 8. There are lateral tufts of hair on segment 4 of the male abdomen in addition to those on 5 and 6; only the latter two are found in Plusiopalpa.

Geographical range

Oriental tropics.

Habitat preference

The species is scarce but possibly more frequent in the lowlands, the highest specimen being recorded from 1200m on G. Kinabalu.

Biology

Moore (1884, Lepid. Ceylon 3: 71) described the larva as olive green, darker beneath, the segments spotted with black. There are a few fine dorsal hairs.

The host-plant given was Acalypha (Euphorbiaceae).

Genitalia: