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The Tigermoths (Erebidae, Arctiinae, Lithosiini) of Papua Indonesia
by Rob de Vos
Oeonistis delia (Fabricius, 1787)
[Noctua delia Fabricius, 1787] [holotype: not located]
synonyms:
Gnophria ceramensis Vollenhoven, 1872 [holotype: Seram, in RMNH]
Tigrioides splendens Lucas, 1890 [type: Queensland, not located yet]
Oenistis (sic) entella braeckeli Debauche, 1938 [holotype: Menado, Sulawesi, in ISNB]
Similar species
Oeonistis delia is very similar to three other Indo-Australian species: O. altica (Linnaeus, 1768), O. entella (Cramer, 1779) and O. lifuensis Rothschild, 1912. Although I have not seen all genitalia I follow Holloway (2001) in his opinion that the four are bona species. The recently described taxon imitaria Orhant, 2000 from Thailand is probably nothing else than altica. The distribution areas from all species are not overlapping.
Oeonistis entella from Ceylon and South India is the smallest species, rather pale and quite easy to distinguish from the others by the retracted dark hind margin on the forewing which does not touch the tornus. Oeonistis altica from Northern India to the Sunda Islands is externally hardly to distinguish from O. delia, this must be done by genitalia. Oeonistis lifuensis from New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands has its ground colour pinkish orange with a similar dark pattern like the others.
Distribution
STATUS: In Papua most abundant in the eastern part. In lowland and mountainous areas. Not particularly common.
PAPUA LOCALITIES: New Guinea: Abmisibil, Ampas, Borme, Brazza River, Gurakor, Jayapura, Kwerba (Foja Mts), Langda, Lelambo, Mabilabol, Pass Valley, Senopi, Sentani, Ubrub, Uskwar, Walmak (Nipsan), Wambes. Details in gazetteer.
EXTERNAL DISTRIBUTION: Sulawesi, Moluccas, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga.
DATA SOURCES: KSP, RMNH, ZSMC. Literature (see below).
Literature
Cerny, K., 1995. A contribution to the knowledge of the Arctiidae (Lepidoptera) of the Philippines. Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, Suppl. 14: 149-174.
Common, I.F.B., 1990. Moths of Australia: 535 pp. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
Draudt, M., 1914. In: Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 10: Spinner und Schwarmer des Indo-Australischen Gebiets, Arctiidae: 134-223. A. Kernen, Stuttgart.
Edwards, E.D., 1996. Arctiidae. In: Nielsen, E.S., E.D. Edwards & T.V. Rangsi, 1996. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera 4: 1-529.
Eecke, R. van, 1926. De Heterocera van Sumatra, III. Zoologische Mededelingen, Leiden 9: 257-299.
Eecke, R. van, 1927. De Heterocera van Sumatra, IV. Zoologische Mededelingen, Leiden 10 90-157.
Holloway, J.D., 1979. A survey of the Lepidoptera, biogeography and ecology of New Caledonia: 588 pp. W. Junk, Den Haag, Boston, London.
Holloway, J.D., 1982. Arctiidae. In: Barlow, H.S. An introduction to the Moths of South East Asia: 305 pp. Malayan Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
Holloway, J.D., 2001. The Moths of Borneo, part 7: Family Arctiidae, subfamily Lithosiinae: 1-486 (8 plates). Malayan Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
Orhant, G.E.R.J., 2000. Two new Indo-Australian Lithosiinae (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). Tinea 16(4): 246-249.
Roepke, W., 1951. Lepidoptera Heterocera, gesammelt von Dr. F. Schneider in Sumatra. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen entomologischen Gesellschaft 24(4): 377-400.
Schaus, W., 1922. New species of Lithosiidae from the Oriental Region (Lepidoptera). Insecutor Inscitiae Menstruus, Washington 10 23-37.
Strand, E., 1922. Lepidopterorum Catalogus 26: Arctiidae: Subfam. Lithosiinae: 501-899. W. Junk, Berlin.
Tams, W.H.T., 1935. Resultats Scientifiques du Voyage aux Indes Orientales Neerlandaises de LL. AA. RR. 1e Prince et la Princesse Leopold de Belgique, Lepidoptera II, 2. Heterocera. Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Natuurhistorisch Museum van Belgie (Buiten Reeks) 4(12): 31-64 (11 plates).
Viette, P., 1950. Les Lithosiidae de Nouvelle-Caledonie et des Nouvelles-Hebrides (Lep. Heter.). Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France, Paris 119: 81-96.
Vollenhoven, S.C. Snellen van, 1873. Description de trois especes noevelles de Lepidopteres des Indes Orientales. Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 16: 244-247.
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