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The Little Bear Moths (Lepidoptera: Brachodidae) of Papua Indonesia
by Axel Kallies
The Brachodidae are a relatively small family that, together with the Clearwing moths (Sesiidae) and the Sun moths (Castniidae), form the superfamily Sesioidea. The present concept of Brachodidae with two subfamilies, Brachodinae and Phycodinae, was established by Heppner (1981), but the monophyly of the family and its placement in the Sesioidea is still disputed. A typical character of the species in this family is a conspicuously bicoloured type of scales on forewings and thorax (dark, with a white or light grey distal spot). This scale type is prominent in all Phycodinae and in many Brachodinae taxa examined but has not been mentioned by previous authors. Approximately 135 Brachodid species have been named, distributed in all regions, except from the Nearctic region. Although the majority of species were described from the Palaearctic region, the Brachodidae fauna of southern and south-eastern Asia appears to be the most diverse, yet, despite two recent contributions (Kallies 1998, 2000), the knowledge on Oriental Brachodid moths is still rudimentary. Only five species have yet been found in New Guinea.
For the time being species from whole New Guinea are listed, because details of localities are not yet available.
Listed New Guinea species: 7
Brachodinae
Synechodes Turner, 1913
diabolus (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875)
papuana Heppner, 1990
sidereus Kallies, 2004
Miscera Walker, 1863
basichrysa (Lower, 1916)
ssp. extensa Kallies, 1998Saccocera Kallies 2013
panaras Kallies 2013
Phycodinae
Paranigilgia Kallies, 1998
brandti Kallies 2013
Nigilgia Walker 1863
atribractea Kallies 2013
last updated on 22nd December 2013
Literature
Kallies, A., 2004. The Brachodidae of the Oriental region and adjacent territories (Lepidoptera: Sesioidea). – Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 147: 1-20.
