Deltote Reichenbah, Leipzig, 1817

Han, H. L. & Kononenko, V. S., 2015, A review of the genus Deltote Reichenbah, Leipzig, 1817 with description of a new species from China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Eustrotiinae), Zootaxa 4007 (4), pp. 580-587 : 581

Genus Deltote Reichenbah, Leipzig, 1817

Deltote Reichenbah, Leipzig, 1817 , Jenaische Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung 1: 388 [ Germany]. Type-species: Phalaena argentula Hübner , [1787] (= Pyralis bankiana Fabricius, 1775 ).

Synonymy: Erastria Ochsenheimer, 1816 , preocc. (Hübner, [1813] [ Lepidoptera , Geometridae ]); Lithacodia Hübner, 1818 ; Eustrotia Hübner , [1821] 1816; Hemeroptera Sodoffsky, 1837, repl. name; Hydrelia Guenée, 1841 , preocc. (Hübner, [1825] 1816 [ Lepidoptera , Geometridae ]); Hyela Stephens, 1850 ; Bankia Guenée, 1852 , preocc. (Gray, 1842 [Mollusca]).

Small sized moths, wingspan 22–24 mm. Forewing with moderately produced apex; areole present; M 2 in hingwing developed. Coloration and pattern of forewing contrast, often with silver or white band or spots. In male genitalia tegumen broad; peniculus well developed, flattened, ear-like; uncus long, slightly twisted, falciform; valva long, with parallel costal and ventral margins; costa narrow, base of costa strongly projected dorsally at right angle to the dorsal margin of valva, in some cases costa with large extension in distal third; sacculus large; harpe missing; cucullus sclerotised; juxta large and strongly narrowed posteriorly; aedeagus moderate, coecum large well expressed, cornuti absent. In the female genitalia 8th abdominal tergit weakly sclerotised, moderate; papillae anales quadrangular; apophysis anterior slender and equal to posterior ones in length; antrum membranous; ductus bursae moderate, half long as bursa; corpus bursae elongate, sack like, often with long cervix.

Moths are active at dusk and night; some species fly at day time. Known larvae trophically connected with herbaceous plants, being olygophagous of Poaceae and Cyperaceae .

In the present treatment the genus includes seven species with confirmed generic association. Three of them are widely distributed in Palaearctic, one is distributed in the Far Eastern countries, two are known only from China and one ( Deltote bellicula ) is Nearctic. A number of taxa placed in “ Lithacodia ” and “ Erastria ” ( Poole, 1989) waiting for the revision.