Protuliocnemis, HOLLOWAY, 1996

Han, Hongxiang, Galsworthy, Anthony C. & Xue, Dayong, 2012, The Comibaenini of China (Geometridae: Geometrinae), with a review of the tribe, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 165 (4), pp. 723-772 : 765-767

PROTULIOCNEMIS HOLLOWAY, 1996

Protuliocnemis Holloway, 1996: 244 . Type species: Comibaena partita Walker, 1861 , by original designation. India: Hindostan.

Adults: Antenna bipectinate in both male and female, filiform with short cilia terminally, rami in female shorter than in male. Frons slightly protruding. Labial palpus with the second and third segments rough-scaled, the third segment in female usually elongate. Hind tibia of male dilated or not, with terminal extension or not, with two pairs of spurs or only one pair of terminal spurs.

Wing shape and pattern. Wings green. Apex of forewing rounded or pointed ( Protuliocnemis falcipennis ), that of hindwing rounded or slightly concave; outer margin of both wings smooth, or forming a small blunt protrusion on the hindwing of Protuliocnemis partita (Indo-Australian tropics, east to Papua New Guinea and Queensland). Forewing with white transverse lines; antemedial line usually extending along anal fold and connected with postmedial line [except Protuliocnemis woodfordi ( Solomon Islands) and Pro. falcipennis ]; postmedial line usually slightly curved inwards, serrate anteriorly and mostly smooth; submarginal line usually angled inwards between medial veins; veins between postmedial and submarginal lines often white, sometimes with large diffuse white patch. Large dark patches usually present on tornal angle of forewing and apex of hindwing, larger on hindwing. Postmedial line of hindwing curved, straight, or sinuous; submarginal line wavy. Discal spot usually present on forewing, present or absent on hindwing. Underside: greenish white, often with dark patch on apex of hindwing. In Protuliocnemis dissimilis only the simple transverse lines present on the wings.

Third sternite of male abdomen without setal patches; sometimes eighth segment with posterior margin concave posteriorly at middle.

Male genitalia. Uncus obsolete, short pointed, or shallowly bifid. Socii developed. Gnathos with median process sclerotized, narrow, and pointed. Valva simple, sclerotized process or tooth absent on terminal area, but sometimes with large costal basal process ( Pro. falcipennis , Protuliocnemis candida sp. nov., Protuliocnemis dissimilis sp. nov.). Vinculum concave at middle. Coremata absent. Aedeagus simple, sclerotized terminally.

Female genitalia. Ovipositor lobes round. Apophyses anteriores and posteriores slender. Antrum developed or not. Ductus bursae very long and slender, or quite short. Corpus bursae small; signum bicornute or absent.

Diagnosis: In the Comibaenini , the genus Protuliocnemis is distinctive in having a postmedial line on the hindwing, the antemedial line of the forewing usually folded outward, and the antemedial and postmedial lines connected by a narrow white line on the anal fold. Comibaena albimarginata (previously in Uliocnemis ) is very close in appearance to the members of Protuliocnemis , but the postmedial line on the hindwing of Protuliocnemis is much further from the outer margin than in that species. In the male genitalia, Protuliocnemis is also characteristic in the Comibaenini in bearing a developed median process on the gnathos, and, in several species, a large sclerotized process on the valva base.

Biological notes: Holloway (1996) gave details of the biology of three Bornean species: Pro. partita , Protuliocnemis helpsi , and Protuliocnemis biplagiata . The larvae of all three species have tubercles for attaching plant fragments and detritus. The larva of Pro. partita feeds in the flower panicles of the host plant, and its pupa is in a compact cocoon containing detritus.

Host plants [from Holloway (1996), Hausmann (2001), and the website of HOSTS – a Database of the World’s Lepidopteran Hostplants (http://www.nhm. ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/hostplants/) are as follows: Pro. biplagiata (Leguminosae: Acacia auriculiformis ); Pro. helpsi ( Avicenniaceae : Avicennia officinalis , Avicennia alba ); Pro. partita ( Anacardiaceae : Buchanania latifolia , Mangifera indica ; Myrtaceae : Melaleuca leucadendra ); Pro. neriaria ( Fagaceae : Quercus ).

Distribution: Oriental to Australasian region.

PROTULIOCNEMIS CASTALARIA ( OBERTHÜR, 1916)

( FIGS 51 , 104 , 152 , 207 )

Phorodesma castalaria Oberthür, 1916: 106 , pl. 388, figure 3268. Syntypes including ♂, India, Khasi Hills; Australia, Queensland, Kuranda. ( BMNH)

Uliocnemis castalaria: Prout, 1933: 88 .

Protuliocnemis castalaria: Holloway, 1996: 244 .

Diagnosis: This species is similar to Pro. biplagiata Moore (Indo-Australian tropics, east to New Caledonia) in the external features and the male genitalia. Both species have a similar apical patch on the hindwing. The clearest difference is in the male hind tibia, which bears only one pair of terminal spurs in Pro. castalaria and two pairs in Pro. biplagiata . The male genitalia are almost identical to Pro. biplagiata ( Holloway, 1996: fig. 247), with reduced uncus, developed socii, simple valva, and pointed medial process on the gnathos. The female genitalia of the two species are also identical, with the posterior margin of the sterigma concave, a long ductus bursae, the pyriform corpus bursae, and a signum which has two tiny spines on an elongate incrassate area.

Type material examined: India: 1♂, syntype, Khasia Hills, Assam, Ex. Oberthür Coll. Brit. Mus. 1927-3 ( Phorodesma castalaria Oberthür ♂ type; red type label; the figure label, figure 3268; also labelled Uliocnemis cassidara Wlk. ) ( BMNH)

Additional material examined: China: 18♂ 6♀, southern China, February , May to June, August to September, December ( IZCAS, ZFMK, AG Coll.) ; India, 3♂, northern India, August to October ( BMNH) .

Distribution: China ( Taiwan, Guangdong, Hainan, Hong Kong, Guangxi), India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali, ssp. lepturges ), Australia.

PROTULIOCNEMIS FALCIPENNIS ( YAZAKI, 1991)

( FIGS 52 , 105 , 153 , 208 )

Uliocnemis falcipennis Yazaki, 1991: 264 [English translation p. 266], figures 7, 10, 11. Holotype ♀, Taiwan: Nantou Hsien, Lushan Spa. (BMNH)

Comibaena falcipennis: Scoble, 1999: 183 .

Protuliocnemis falcipennis: Han & Xue, 2011: 308 . Diagnosis: Protuliocnemis falcipennis is distinct in the following characters: absence of a white line connecting antemedial and postmedial lines on the forewing; postmedial line only forming a tooth on the anal fold and strongly dentate in the anterior half; falcate forewing apex; discal spots on both wings bordered with white ring; hind tibia in both sexes bearing two pairs of spurs. In the male genitalia, Pro. falcipennis shares the shallowly bifid uncus, the long basal process on the valva with Pro. candida and Pro. dissimilis . However, the branches of the uncus are much more pointed and triangular in Pro. falcipennis . In the female genitalia, Pro. falcipennis is similar to those two species in the funnelform antrum; however, a diverticulum is absent that is present in the other two species. The signum is present and bicornute.

Material examined: China: holotype, ♀, Lushan-spa, Nantow Hsien , Taiwan, 1000 m, 29.vii.1985, Y. Kishida leg., Inoue Coll. B.M. 1992-71, Type status verified K. Buckmaster 1993, BMNH slide no. 16677 ( BMNH); photographs of one male paratype and its male genitalia were examined .

Distribution: China (Taiwan).

Figures

Figures 27–54. Comibaenini moths. 27, Comibaena nigromacularia; 28, Comibaena subdelicata; 29, Comibaena procumbaria; 30, Comibaena subprocumbaria; 31, Comibaena tenuisaria; 32, Comibaena cenocraspis; 33, Comibaena hypolampes; 34, Comibaena latilinea; 35, Comibaena swanni; 36, Comibaena birectilinea sp. nov., holotype; 37, Microbaena pulchra minor; 38, Thetidia albocostaria; 39, Thetidia correspondens; 40, Thetidia atyche; 41, Thetidia chlorophyllaria, 42, holotype of Thetidia pekingensis; 43–44, Thetidia kansuensis, 43, from Gansu, 44, from Tibet; 45, Thetidia smaragdaria; 46, Proteuchloris neriaria; 47, Linguisaccus subhyalina; 48, Linguisaccus minor sp. nov., paratype; 49, Chlorochromodes rhodocraspeda sp. nov., holotype; 50, Argyrocosma inductaria; 51, Protuliocnemis castalaria; 52, Protuliocnemis falcipennis; 53, Protuliocnemis candida sp. nov., paratype; 54, Protuliocnemis dissimilis sp. nov., paratype. Scale bar = 13 mm.

Figures 103–107. Male genitalia. 103, Argyrocosma inductaria; 104, Protuliocnemis castalaria; 105, Protuliocnemis falcipennis; 106, Protuliocnemis candida; 107, Protuliocnemis dissimilis. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figures 132–155. Aedeagus. 132, Comibaena subdelicata; 133, Comibaena procumbaria; 134, Comibaena subprocumbaria; 135, Comibaena tenuisaria; 136, Comibaena cenocraspis; 137, Comibaena hypolampes; 138, Comibaena latilinea; 139, Comibaena swanni; 140, Comibaena birectilinea; 141, Microbaena pulchra; 142, Thetidia albocostaria; 143, Thetidia atyche; 144, Thetidia chlorophyllaria; 145, Thetidia kansuensis; 146, Thetidia smaragdaria; 147, Proteuchloris neriaria; 148, Linguisaccus subhyalina; 149, Linguisaccus minor; 150, Chlorochromodes rhodocraspeda; 151, Argyrocosma inductaria; 152, Protuliocnemis castalaria; 153, Protuliocnemis falcipennis; 154, Protuliocnemis candida; 155, Protuliocnemis dissimilis. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figures 200–210. Female genitalia. 200, Thetidia chlorophyllaria; 201, Thetidia smaragdaria; 202, Proteuchloris neriaria; 203, Linguisaccus subhyalina; 204, Linguisaccus minor; 205, Chlorochromodes rhodocraspeda; 206, Argyrocosma inductaria; 207, Protuliocnemis castalaria; 208, Protuliocnemis falcipennis; 209, Protuliocnemis candida; 210, Protuliocnemis dissimilis. Scale bars = 1 mm.