Printable View
Any idea on the species ID of this moth ? I found 3 species really similar, but i can't succeed to confirm which one is it between these 3 species : Brunia antica ? Eilema marguerita ? Eilema prabana ?
Thanks for your help
Nad
Attachment 26041Attachment 26042Attachment 26043
Moths are extremely difficult, not to mention Sumatra have many endemic species.
In your specimens, the yellowish margin which is broad at the costa goes fairly broadly round the apex to the distal margin.
In both the Brunia species it narrows at the apex & goes narrowly round the distal margin.
B. antica Taiwan & Japan where B. sarawaca is absent.
http://twmoth.tesri.gov.tw/peo/MothI...7-20151127-016
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...act=mrc&uact=8
B. sarawaca thi from BOLD is probably correct.
http://v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/...e?taxid=596084
http://v3.boldsystems.org/pics/LEFIJ...1522152732.jpg
You can also see both species in this article.
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/ENT_0038_0141-0176.pdf
From this it should be Eilema ,E prabana is a good candidate.
http://www.jpmoth.org/~dmoth/Digital...%20prabana.htm
I have no idea of the other Eilema species you mentioned.
TL Seow: Cheers.
Thanks a lot for your help Dr Seow !
E. marguerita is endemic of Sumatra (Zool. Meded. 10 (8): 129, (9: pl. 4, f. 1a-b)) : https://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/149267
Here is the approximate translation in English of the description :
After related to I. oblitterans Feld. (male) Vein system similarly depicted on the adjacent text figure; the median makes a turn in the cell, so that it was initially very narrow, and suddenly broadened at the end. There is a fold in the cell with string scales and a brown spot beneath it
from ditto scales to vein 3. Between veins 1 and 2 is another fold with modified scales, as with I. oblitterans Feld.
The front wing veins 7, 8 and 9 are stalked in such a way that 8 and 9 come together at the same point, so that a trident is formed, or 8 and 9 very shortly after one another. The location of these three veins relative to SS a varies! For the female, 8 and 9 are always short on 7 (see text figure).
Head, tegulae, patagia, thorax and abdomen end yellow; the first part of the abdomen gray; legs yellow to brown-yellow; the coxae and the bases of the femora turn yellow. Front wings very light brownish yellowish-white with a purple hue; the costa yellow or yellow-white. Rear wings white with a yellow tint, particularly marginal and apical. No trace of a wing drawing.
If the forewing of E. marguerita is very light brownish yellowish-white & it is related to E. oblitterans then it probably looks the same.
https://www.africanmoths.com/pages/E...litterans.html
If so this can only be E. prabana.
TL Seow: Cheers.
Thanks Dr. Seow for your explanations. It helped me a lot.
Cheers
Nad
This gets very complicated.
In checking correct examples of Eilema prabana one thing did not match well.
There should be a dark patch on the prothorax.
E. prabana.
http://v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/...e?taxid=588636
http://v3.boldsystems.org/pics/LEPMY...1399648792.JPG
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/...fig1_267642363
http://virtualcollections.naturalsci...sa-tams-1935-1
Singapore do have Brunia antica & E. prabana.
E. prabana is described as very dark ie blackish grey.
http://www.mothsofborneo.com/part-7/...siini_10_1.php
Brunia antica in Singapore.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/777156
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/14695527
Likely Eilema prabana. Prothorax with a dark patch.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/8488541
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/8427538
The width of the yellow margin is likely a variable feature.
Thus it is much more likely your pix are Brunia antica , that is if B. sarawaca does not occur in Sumatra.
TL Seow : Cheers.
Thank you Dr. Seow, the dark patch is indeed very visible on E. prabana.