Thosea lutea Heylaerts, 1890

Singh, Navneet, Ahmad, Jalil, Chandra, Kailash & Solovyev, Alexey V., 2021, A new species of the genus Thespea Solovyev and four newly recorded species of Limacodidae from India (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea), Zootaxa 4927 (1), pp. 123-132 : 127

Thosea lutea Heylaerts, 1890

( Figs 10 , 18 )

Thosea lutea Heylaerts, 1890: 28 .

Material examined. India: 1 ♂, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Great Nicobar Island, Laxmi nagar, 11.xi.2018, leg. K.C. Gopi & party (NZCZSI, 7201/ H10) .

Diagnosis. Thosea lutea is diagnosed by the absence of the postmedial line on the forewing. In the male genitalia, the saccular zone is very deep and the furca is sinuous, articulating with a subcostal flap. The uncus is oval in the basal half and digitate in the apical half. The tegumen is narrow, the gnathos is robust, thicker and longer compared to all its congeners. The aedeagus is slightly s-shaped and bulbous towards the proximal end.

Distribution. Central and southern Vietnam, West Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, Sumatra, Bangka, Java ( Holloway et al. 1987, Solovyev & Witt 2009) and India (Great Nicobar Island). Reporting of the species from Great Nicobar is its first record from India.

Remarks. Thosea lutea sometimes becomes a serious pest of coconut and the larvae are mainly found on medium to tall palms ( Holloway et al. 1987). Considering the poor knowledge we have at present on the distribution of this species, and more generally of the moths in the family Limacodidae in the Great Nicobar Island, the discovery of this moth will play an important role in planning the pest control management of the island, where coconut is a major cash crop.

Figures

FIGURES 1–11. Adults (dorsal view). 1, Thespea aka, sp. nov., holotype ♂; 2, T. aka, sp. nov., paratype ♂; 3, T. heringi, holotype ♂, Myanmar, 25 km E Putao, env. Nan Sa Bon (MWM); 4, T. siniaevi, holotype ♂, Myanmar, 65 km NE Putao (MWM); 5, Melinaria pseudorepanda kalawensis ♂, India, Arunachal Pradesh, lower Subansiri (NZCZSI); 6, M. repanda ♂, India NE, Assam, Kaziranga, Wild Life res., Pan Bari, 26˚45`N, 93˚10`E, 100m, leg, V. Sinyaev (MWM); 7, M. pseudorepanda pseudorepanda ♂, China, Sichuan, Volonong Res., Siguliang Shan, 31˚09`, 103˚20`E, leg. Sinyaev & team (MWM); 8, Parasa julikatis ♂, India, Arunachal Pradesh, Upper Siang (NZCZSI); 9, P. julikatis ♂, Vietnam, Mts. Fan-si-pan, Chapa, holotype (MWM); 10, Thosea lutea ♂, India, A & N Islands, Great Nicobar Island, Laxmi nagar (NZCZSI); 11, Mambarona congrua ♂, India, A & N Islands, Great Nicobar Island, Galathea (NZCZSI). Scale bar: 1 cm.

FIGURES 16–19. Male genitalia (ventral view with aedeagus detached in lateral view). 16, Melinaria pseudorepanda kalawensis, Arunachal Pradesh, lower Subansiri (NZCZSI, 7019/ H10/ gen); 17, Parasa julikatis, Arunachal Pradesh, Upper Siang (NZCZSI, 7020/ H10); 18, Thosea lutea, Great Nicobar Island, Laxmi nagar (NZCZSI, 7201/ H10); 19, Mambarona congrua, Great Nicobar Island, Galathea (NZCZSI, 6677/ H10/ gen).