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| British Museum (Natural History)

.uwenzori Expedition 1952 | Volume I, Number 5

Lymantriidae : by C. L. COLLENETTE

Bene ii London by order of the Trustees of the British Museum

Issued 24 February, 1958, Price Two Shillings net

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Heterocera : Lymantriidae

By C. L. COLLENETTE

| The Lymantriidae collected by Mr. D. S. Fletcher on the 1952 Ruwenzori Expedition comprise | twenty-six species, of which four are here described as new. Nine species are among the thirty taken on the previous expedition of 1934-5, when collecting took place at a much larger number of stations.

Perhaps the most interesting insect is a new species of Leucoma, taken at 6500 ft. and over, which at first sight was not distinguishable from the common L. luteipes Walker of West Africa. The | series standing under this name in the British Museum (Natural History) proved on close examina- tion to consist of twelve species and subspecies, without wing markings, and separable almost entirely on the genitalia, forming a parallel with the white Redoa submarginata Walker of the ‘Indo-Australian region, which splits into numerous species and races on similar differences.

Leucoma fletcheri sp.n. (Figure 3)

| $: Antennal shaft white, pectinations ochraceous buff. Palpus ochraceous orange. Frons ochra- | ceous orange, remainder of head, with thorax and abdomen, white. Fore leg entirely ochraceous | orange; mid and hind legs whitish, with an admixture of ochraceous orange in some specimens. | Wings and fringes white, the upperside of fore wing with a shining surface, the costa on underside | of fore wing narrowly bordered with ochraceous orange.

| @: Resembles the male, but with a stronger admixture of ochraceous orange on mid and hind | legs, and the colour on the underside of costa of fore wing continued round the apex and on the | fringe of termen.

| Expanse: $ 40-42 mm., 9 46-51 mm.

RUWENZORI: Mahoma River, 6700 ft., 2 g, 1 (including holotype and allotype); Nam- | wamba Valley, 6500 ft. (Edwards and Jackson), 2 3, 1 9.

A large number of insects in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) has been standing under the | name of Leucoma luteipes (Walker), 1855. Walker described the species from a single Sierra | Leone ‘male’; this type specimen, agreeing with the description in all other particulars, proves | unfortunately, however, to be a female. A careful examination of over eighty males from the | series, taken in many areas from west to east Africa, very few of which can be distinguished on | external characters alone, reveals no less than twelve completely distinct patterns in genitalia. Of | these twelve species or subspecies, only two have been taken in Sierra Leone. Both of these are | represented by a good series, and are luckily distinguishable in both sexes by the separation or | stalking of veins 6 and 7 in the hind wing. Walker’s type female of L. /uteipes has these two veins | on a distinct stalk, and it has therefore been possible to isolate the males of the species, which

69

70 Ruwenzori Expedition, 1952. Volume I, Number 5

have been found in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Nigeria and the Cameroons, with an expanse of ¢ 35-41 mm., 2 41-46 mm.

L. fletcheri, described above, can be distinguished from L. luteipes by the greater expanse and its restriction to the Ruwenzori Range at over 6500 ft. The 2 3, 1 2 from the Namwamba Valley were previously determined as L. luteipes.

The naming and description of the twelve species and subspecies here alluded to, and especially the matching of males with females, will be the subject of a separate paper.

Leucoma nigripes (Holland) Caviria nigripes Holland, 1893, Ent. News, 4:62. RUWENZORI: Mahoma River, 6700 ft., 2 ¢. Recorded from the Cameroons and Uganda. The present insects are larger (38-40 mm. as against 33-36 mm.) and apparently less densely

scaled than the two males taken on the 2nd Ruwenzori Expedition at 6500 ft., but show no differences in genitalia or other features.

Homoeomeria haploa sp.nov. (Figure 2)

3: Antennal shaft whitish, pectinations ochraceous buff. Palpus white, on the outer side fuscous black. Head, thorax and abdomen white. Legs with femora whitish, mixed on the tibiae with fuscous black, tarsi almost entirely fuscous black. Wings and fringes entirely white, with a shining surface, and with no black on costa of fore wing. Clasp with a long, slender and pointed process dorsally and a square-ended process ventrally, the latter serrate along distal edge and about half the length of the dorsal process; aedeagus pointed and without spines.

Vein 10 in fore wing present.

UGANDA: Bundibugyo, 3440 ft., 1 3 (type), expanse 26 mm.; Kampala, ii. 1933 (Hargreaves), Ig, expanse 29 mm.

This species is allied to Homoeomeria hololeuca (Hampson) 1910, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (8) 5:435, described from a single female taken at Entebbe. Two males from Entebbe have since come to hand, and in all three of these vein 10 in the fore wing is absent. Two other species, undescribed and both from Elisabethville, possess vein 10 in the fore wing, and show specific distinction in the male genitalia from H. haploa and H. hololeuca. These species will be described and the genitalia illustrated with those mentioned above under L. fletcheri.

It may be stated here that of 11 males and 44 females examined in the enquiry on H. haploa, one male and one female do not fall into line with other specimens as regards the presence or absence of vein 10 in the fore wing. In particular, 25 females (of one of the unnamed species) have vein 10 present, while a single female, apparently identical in all other respects, including genitalia, has vein 10 absent. It is therefore suspected that a tendency to aberration may occasion- ally exist in the presence or absence of this vein, a tendency already known for vein 4 of the hind- wing in the genus Euproctis Hiibner.

Olapa tavetensis (Holland) Leucoma tavetensis Holland, 1892, Entomologist, 25, Suppl., 93. UGANDA: Semliki Forest, 2850 ft., 2 $; Bundibugyo, 3440 ft., 7 . A common species from Nigeria to Zanzibar.

Heterocera: Lymantriidae 71

Cropera testacea Walker _ Cropera testacea Walker, 1855, List Lep. Ins. B.M., 4:826. RUWENZORI: Ibanda, 4700 ft., 2 g, 1 Q.

UGANDA: Bundibugyo, 3440 ft. 1 J.

Occurs in South, Central and East Africa.

Crorema submaculata Collenette

— Crorema submaculata Collenette, 1931, Trans. ent. Soc. Lond., 79:343. RUWENZORI: Ibanda, 4700 ft., 1 3.

UGANDA: Bundibugyo, 3440 ft., 1 g.

Recorded from E. Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika and Nigeria.

Euproctis ouria Collenette Euproctis ouria Collenette, 1931, Trans. ent. Soc. London, 79: 347. | RUWENzORI: Mahoma River, 6700 ft., 2 3.

Previously taken only from 7000-9000 ft. in Uganda and the eastern Congo.

Euproctis aplegia Collenette

Euproctis aplegia Collenette, 1953, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (12) 6: 568. | RUWENZORI: Mahoma River, 6700 ft., 1 9.

Known previously from three females taken in the same areas as E. ouria, at 7500-8000 ft.,

and probably the female of that species. The two sexes are so dissimilar in markings and shape of

wings that further evidence of relationship is required.

Euproctis pallida ibanda subsp.n.

-Cropera pallida Kirby, 1896, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (6) 18:384.

3: Resembles Euproctis p. pallida Kirby, from Mozambique, Nyasaland and Tanganyika, except for the following: A paler and rather larger insect, the markings on the fore wing cream colour rather than pale orange yellow, the hind wing and underside of both wings cartridge buff rather than cream buff. The spot on the discocellulars of the fore wing dragon’s blood red rather than orange rufous. The fore wing of E. p. pallida has no black markings, while in E. p. ibanda there is a small subterminal black spot between veins 5 and 6, and a short black streak parallel with the termen below vein 2. The male genitalia of the two are similar, the uncus having a single central stem with a pair of curved pointed processes from its shoulders; the clasps also are of similar shape, but with the ventral edge in the new subspecies more heavily sclerotized.

Expanse: 3 30-32 mm.

| RUWENZORI: Ibanda, 4700 ft., 2 g (including type); also, in the British Museum collection, S.W. Uganda, Kigezi, Ruhinda, 5000 ft., vi.t952 (Burgess), 1 J, and Kazinga Channel, vii. 1934 jElopkins), ey

72 Ruwenzori Expedition, 1952. Volume I, Number 5

Euproctis nessa Swinhoe

Euproctis nessa Swinhoe, 1906, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (7) 17:542. UGANDA: Bundibugyo, 3440 ft., 1 g. Recorded from Uganda, Belgian Congo, Kenya and Tanganyika.

Porthesaroa lacipa Hering Porthesaroa lacipa Hering, 1926, in Seitz, Gross-schmett. Erde, 14: 151. RUWENZORI: Bugoye, 4500 ft., 1 g, 1 2; Ibanda, 4700 ft., 1 J. Ranges from the Cameroons to East Africa.

Porthesaroa maculata Collenette

Porthesaroa maculata Collenette, 1938, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (11) 1:21T. RUWENZORI: Bugoye, 4500 ft., 1 9. The fourth specimen known. Previously taken in the Haut Katanga at 1200-1350 metres, and in Mozambique. Laelia subrosea (Walker) subsp.n. ? Anthora subrosea Walker, 1855, List. Lep. Ins. B.M., 4:80. RUWENZORI: Ibanda, 4700 ft., 1 9.

Agrees fairly well with some West African specimens, but very large (expanse 41 mm.) and the forewing strongly suffused with pink, possibly due to the fresh condition. The insect may - represent a separate race, but more material is required.

Laelia eutricha Collenette Laelia eutricha Collenette, 1931, Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 79:352. RUWENZORI: Ibanda, 4700 ft., 7 3. Confined to Kenya, Uganda and the Congo.

Laelia fracta Schaus and Clements Laelia fracta Schaus and Clements, 1893, Sierra Leone Lep., 26. RUWENZORI: Ibanda, 4700 ft., 1 g.

Occurs throughout Africa excluding the north west.

Laelia stigmatica propensa (Hering) Dasychira stigmatica propensa Hering, 1926, in Seitz, Gross-schmett. Erde, 14: 169. RUWENZORI: Ibanda, 4700 ft., 1 9.

Recorded from Tanganyika, Kenya and Uganda. The present insect is much darker than others from further east in Uganda and Kenya, and may belong to a separate race.

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Heterocera: Lymantri idae 73

Dasychira thysanogramma Collenette Dasychira thysanogramma Collenette, 1930, Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 78:80. RUWENZORI: Mahoma River, 6700 ft., 2 g.

Known previously only from 7000 ft. in the Rugege Forest, Belgian Congo.

Dasychira klajim Bryk Dasychira klajim Bryk, 1935, Lep. Cat., 62:357. RUWENZORI: Mahoma River, 6700 ft., 2 3.

Recorded from the Gold Coast to the Cameroons, also the Upper Lowa Valley, west of Lake Kivu.

Dasychira punctifera (Walker) Erastria punctifera Walker, 1857, List Lep. Ins. B.M., 12:809. RUWENZORI: Ibanda, 4700 ft., 1 g. Occurs in the Congo, Gold Coast and Angola.

Dasychira sp.

A single male from Uganda, Bundibugyo, 3440 ft., is indistinguishable in facies from D. melarhina Collenette, 1938, taken in the dry forest zone of the Haut Katanga and in Tanganyika. There are differences in the shape of the anellus and aedeagus, and further specimens are required for comparison.

Dasychira melarhina Collenette Dasychira melarhina Collenette, 1938, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (t1) 1:217. UGANDA: Bundibugyo, 3440 ft., 1 g.

An uncommon species, recorded from the Belgian Congo and Tanganyika, and new to

Uganda. Dasychira mahoma sp.n. (Figure 1)

§: Antennal shaft bistre, pectinations fuscous black. Palpus bistre. Head, thorax and abdomen bistre, patagium tawny olive, a circular tuft of dark hair-scales dorsally at base of abdomen. Legs tawny olive mixed with bistre. Fore wing tawny olive heavily marked with bistre, especially in the basal third; discocellulars bordered with bistre; a double crenate postmedial fascia, points on the veins, concavities terminad, and with some white scales distally; a series of preterminal inter- neural bistre streaks, obliquely placed; fringe bistre, tawny olive at the vein-ends. Hind wing, and underside of both wings drab clouded with Saccardo’s umber, fringes tawny olive at the vein-ends, underside of both wings with a dark postmedial fascia parallel with the termen, and a dark streak on the discocellulars of the hind wing.

Expanse: 35-36 mm. RUWENZORI: Mahoma River, 6700 ft., 2 ¢ (including holotype).

A species not easily separated on facies alone from some other African Dasychira. May be placed near to the common D. extorta Distant (1897), in which the male has a light hind wing.

74 Ruwenzori Expedition, 1952. Volume I, Number 5

The genitalia are unusual, having a large, unforked uncus and beneath it, strongly downturned, what may be described as a second inferior uncus of somewhat similar shape.

Dasychira aeschra (Hampson) Sminthopses aeschra Hampson, 1926, Descr. Gen. Spec. Noctuinae, 528. UGANDA: Semliki Forest, 2850 ft., 2 3; Bundibugyo, 3440 ft., 1 ¢. A variable species from Uganda, Kenya and the Belgian Congo.

Rhypopteryx rhodocloea (Collenette)

Lymantria rhodocloea Collenette, 1939, Brit. Mus. Ruwenzori Exped. 1934-5, 3 (4): 10s. RUWENZORI: Mahoma River, 6700 ft., 1 g.

Described from a single Ruwenzori male taken at 6500 ft.

Lymantria modesta (Walker) Morasa modesta Walker, 1855, List Lep. Ins. B.M., 4:859.

RUWENZORI: Ibanda, 4700 ft., 1 ¢. Occurs throughout Africa excluding the north-west and the extreme west.

Polymona rufifemur Walker Polymona rufifemur Walker, 1855, List Lep. Ins. B.M., 3:768. UGANDA: Semliki Forest, 2850 ft., 1 3.

Ranges throughout Africa exclusive of the north.

Heterocera: Lymantriidac

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t. Dasychira mahoma sp.n. 2. Homoeomeria haploa sp.n.

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: Leucoma fletcheri sp-n.

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