Nymphicula australis ( Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874 )

Agassiz, David, 2014, A preliminary study of the genus Nymphicula Snellen from Australia, New Guinea and the south Pacific (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae: Acentropinae), Zootaxa 3774 (5), pp. 401-429 : 416-417

Nymphicula australis ( Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874)

Margarosticha australis Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874 . Pl. 136 fig. 10.

Type locality: Fiji ( Vitu).

Redescription of imago (fig. 26). Wingspan 14–16mm. Head ochreous; collar orange; antenna & scape ochreous; labial palpus terminal segment ochreous, twice length of second which is irrorate fuscous and densely scaled. Thorax orange mixed white and fuscous.

Forewing: extreme base whitish; basal area fuscous mixed orange; antemedian band broad, orange, not quite reaching costa, bordered inwardly whitish in outer part; a dark longitudinal streak above dorsum; first strigula broad, cream towards costa, edged brown; second strigula edged dark fuscous except towards costa; costa cream to apex; tornal spot a curved wedge; termen indented above tornus; terminal cilia fuscous, with a dark fuscous line.

Hindwing: base fuscous; subbasal fascia white; antemedian band narrow broad, orange in dorsal half; lunule white; median area narrow; two bold dark fuscous submarginal lines, the inner one bent around apex and back along costa; much dark fuscous scaling between lines and eye-spots; five eye-spots, just separate; steel blue metallic spots between them and in middle of first; metallic tornal spot adjacent to first eye-spot. Abdomen pale orange. Legs ochreous, second tarsus of male thickened with pale creamy hairs.

Abdomen: tympanal organs with venulae widely divergent; venula media absent or very short. Male with hair pencils just over twice length of seventh segment; coremata pads at base of eighth segment.

Tympanal organs (fig. 52): Venulae secundae strong, extending from anterior edge of eighth segment; venula media absent or very short. Tympanum produced anteriorly into a long lobe.

Male genitalia (fig. 72): valva length 4.5 x width. Aedeagus with single cornutus.

Female genitalia (fig. 94): ductus bursae shorter than corpus bursae; corpus ovate, signum a broad finely spinose patch half as long as corpus.

Material examined. Holotype and 9 specimens from Fiji, Viti Levu, Suva including. ♂ BMNH Pyralidae slide No. 17740, ♀ BMNH Pyralidae slide No. 17739 ( BMNH).

Diagnosis. Very similar to N. cyanolitha but darker and richer in colour, both the yellow and black markings. In the Male genitalia the valvae are broader and the cornutus in the aedeagus is long and strong.

Distribution. Fiji, Suva.( Viti Levu)

Nymphicula cyanolitha (Meyrick) comb.n.

Anydraula cyanolitha Meyrick, 1886 . pp. 220–221.

Type locality. Fiji.

Redescription of imago (for consistency within this paper) (fig. 27). Wingspan 13–15mm. Head ochreous mixed pale brown; labial palpus terminal segment longer than second, pale ochreous; second segment covered with brown scales. Thorax and abdomen ochreous.

Forewing base brown; subbasal fascia white; antemedian fascia yellow outwardly edged brown; medial zone evenly scattered with brown scales; terminal area orange; strigulae edged brown; first strigula white, ochreous on costa; second strigula leaden in dorsal half, tornal spot shining leaden, large; terminal cilia fuscous, whitish above tornus.

Hindwing base brown; subbasal fascia white; antemedian fascia yellow dorsally, a silver grey tornal spot; lunule yellow heavily edged brown; median zone evenly scattered except for a well defined transverse band of white edged brown on each side; more or less parallel with termen; four eye-spots, separated by orange, each containing a shining leaden spot; eye-spot 5 with two such spots.

Tympanal organs (fig. 53): venulae secundae curved outwardly, extending and diverging from tympanal organs almost to the anterior edge of the seventh abdominal segment. Tympanum sharply curved at anterior end.

Male genitalia (fig. 73): abdomen with hair pencils 0.45 x length of abdomen, darker at posterior end; an additional pair of scent organs on the eighth abdominal segment half the length of the segment. Valva simple, length = 3 x width; gnathos just less than half length of uncus. Aedeagus with a double cornutus.

Female genitalia (fig. 95): antrum long; collar followed by bulb at beginning of ductus bursae; corpus bursae equal in length to ductus, "sock"-shaped, with a broad spinose patch along its length around the "heel".

Material examined. 17 specimens in BMNH, Fiji. ♂ BMNH Pyralidae slides 17786, 17825 & 17858, ♀ BMNH Pyralidae slide No.17787

Diagnosis. Differs from the similar N. australis in its generally paler coloration and the yellow subbasal fascia of the hindwing does not meet the dorsum.

Distribution. Fiji: Viti Levu, Vanua Levu.