Setothosea asigna van Eecke comb. n.

Thosea asigna van Eecke, 1929, Zool. Meded. Leiden 12: 113.

Thosea asigna van Eecke; Hering, 1931: 712, Barlow, 1982: 38.

Diagnosis

The species is distinguished in the generic description.

Geographical range

Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Palawan.

Habitat preference

The species is fairly common in lowland rainforest. During the Mulu survey it was taken most frequently in hill dipterocarp forest on the Mulu transect, extending up to lower montane forest, was less frequent on the limestone G. Api over a similar range, and relatively rare in alluvial forest and kerangas.

Biology

The structure of the larva was described in the generic account. It is leaf green, the dorsolateral tubercles being tipped with black spines. The dorsal area is marked with black; an anterior band one third the width of the body, a central diamond running across the body at its widest and an ovate zone that is truncated prior to the posterior dorsolaterals. The black is edged yellow except at the constrictions, which occur at the subdorsals. The ovate area is centred white, the diamond has a dorsal hour-glass in white (which can be reduced to two circles), its constriction traversed by a row of four white dots that span the width of the diamond.

The species has been recorded from oil and coconut palms (Elaeis, Cocos).

Genitalia: