Stictopterinae Hampson, 1894

Qi, Feng, Wang, Ke, Xue, Dayong & Yang, Ding, 2011, A taxonomic revision of the Stictopterinae (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea, Noctuidae) in China, Zootaxa 2926, pp. 1-45 : 3-4

Subfamily Stictopterinae Hampson, 1894

Stictopterinae Hampson, 1894 , Fauna Brit. India (Moths), 2: 397. Type genus: Stictoptera Guenée, 1852 .

Diagnosis. The subfamily is characterized by the elongate forewing; R3-5 and R2 of the forewing forms an areole before the anterior angle of the cell; M2 of the hindwing diverges from the posterior angle of the cell; the basal half of the hindwing is transparent or semitransparent, the veins in that part are black. The Stictopterinae resembles the Eutelinae by external appearance, but is differrent from that subfamily in the structures of the first abdominal sternite, which has a pair of elongate flanges extending distally from apophyses in the Eutelinae, but has a pair of strengthening infolds extending posteriorly from the apophyses in the Stictopterinae .

Description. Head. Compound eyes hemispherical, distance between compound eyes varied between genera. Frons blackish-brown, erected-scaled. Both male and female antenna filiform, sometimes finely ciliate, always brown. Vertex greyish-brown, sometimes erected-scaled. Labial palpus extended beyond frons, tip sometimes extended over compound eyes, the second segment elongate, outer side sometimes with transversal or longitudinal dark strips. Thorax. Patagia and tegulae blackish-brown, suffused with thick greyish-brown scales; tegulae elongate, sometimes longer than half of mesothorax. Legs blackish-brown, outer side darker than inner side, segments ends grey; mid tibia with a pair of spurs, inner side one longer; hind tibia with two pairs of spurs, terminal pair shorter, two hair-pencils at opposite side of spurs ( Figs 1 and 2 ). Frenulum of male a single spine, female 1 or 2 spines; frenulum with basal half curved, in male curved more strong and often with an angle centrally ( Figs 3 (female) and 5 (male)). Wing shape and venation. Forewing elongate, triangular, base of costal margin sometimes incurved, apex not extended forwards, outer margin arc-shaped and slightly wavy, sometimes incurved before rounded tornus; forewing sometimes extremely long and narrow, spindle-shaped, costal margin curved at terminal one third, apex pointed, outer margin extremely oblique, tornus smooth. Hindwing always wide, both apex and tornus rounded, both costal and anal margin straight, outer margin arch-like and slightly incurved between M veins. Forewing venation: basal half of Sc separated from cell, parallel to R1; R1 and R2 separate, almost parallel, R1 diverging from half to posterior one-fourth of cell, R2 diverging before upper angle of cell, R1 sometimes anastomosing with R2 for a short distance and formed an areole; R3, R4 and R5 stalked and diverging from upper angle of cell, R5 diverging before basal one third of the stalk; R3 and R4 separate after terminal one third of the stalk or before the middle of the stalk; R3-5 and R2 anastomosing at a point or connected by a short vein, and formed an areole before upper angle of cell; M1 diverging from upper angle of cell; M2 and M3 diverging from lower angle of cell; CuA1 diverging before lower angle of cell, CuA2 diverging from posterior one third of cell; 2A+3A present. Hindwing venation: Sc+R1 close to cell before half of cell; Rs and M1 diverging from upper angle of cell, M2 and M3 diverging from lower angle of cell, separate or shortly stalked, CuA1 diverging from or a little before lower angle of cell, CuA2 diverging from half of cell; 2A and 3A present. Wing-pattern. Wing pattern various greatly. Forewing usually dark-brown, sometimes tinged with greenish or purplish brown, often with clusters of erected scales around the reniform. Hindwing blackish-brown, basal half sometimes transparent or semitransparent, veins black. Underside: both forewing and hindwing with basal half partly pale grey, terminal part with broad or occasionally narrow blackish-brown band. Abdomen. Blackish or greyish-brown, ends of segments sometimes grey, or every segment with a black spot centrally, the first and the third segments sometimes with dorsal crests. The first sternite with two strengthening infolds (grooved from the exterior), extending posteriorly from the apophyses, forming a triangular zone. The eighth sternite sometimes with a pair of coremata. Male genitalia. Uncus triangular, rostriform or elongate, tip sometimes specialized. Socii occasionally present. Gnathos present or not, generally very short and connected at middle, forming a small ring or with round central process; in a few species central process well specialized into rostriform. Valva narrow or divided into two slender arms connected by a membranous webbing, with or without harpe, costa sometimes with basal process. Juxta variously shaped, sometimes triangular or horseshoe-like. Saccus often inverted triangular, differently shaped between genera. Aedeagus short, with or without cornutus, a small water-drop shaped or globula sclerotized lobe inside ductus ejaculatorius near the vesica. Female genitalia. Ovipositor short and wide, with thick hairs. Apophyses posteriores much longer than apophyses anteriores, apophyses anteriores sometimes very weakly sclerotized. A pair of setose lobes sometimes present laterally to the ostium and post-ostial invagination, differently shaped between species. Ductus bursae elongate, sometimes short and bended centrally. Sometimes appendix bursae same size as corpus bursae. Corpus bursae rounded, always bearing a spinose signum.

Distribution. Oriental, Afrotropical, Australian and Neotropical regions.

Biological notes. Most species from China are recorded from 200 m to 2000 m elevation, and taken between March and December. The larval host plants recorded are from the families Dipterocarpaceae , Tiliaceae , Euphorbiaceae , Clusiaceae and Guttiferae ( Mathur 1942; Gardner 1948; Robinson 1975; Holloway 1985; Chen 1999).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 2. Spurs and hair-pencils of hind tibia of Lophoptera squammilinea. 1, male. 2, female.

FIGURES 3 – 11. Venations. 3. Stictoptera signifera. 4. Aegilia describens. 5. Gyrtona lapidarioides. 6. Odontodes aleuca. 7. Lophoptera squammilinea. 8. Lophoptera longipennis. 9. Diascoides ferruginea. 10 – 11. Sigmuncus arcuata. 10, male; 11, female.