TRIBE ORGYIINI
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Orgyia postica Walker  
   
Lacida postica
Walker, 1855, List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 4: 803.
   
Orgyia ceylanica
Neitner, 1862, Edinb. New phil. J., (N.S.) 15: 34.
   
Orgyia nebulosa
Walker, 1862, J. Linn. Soc. (Zool.), 6:125, syn. n.
   
Orgyia ludekingii
Snellen, 1879, Tijdschr. Ent., 22: 104.
   
Orgyia ocularis
Moore, 1879, Descr. new Indian lepid. Insects Colln. W.S. Atkinson: 44.


Orgyia postica


Diagnosis.
The male forewing postmedial and antemedial are distinctly indicated in black against the dark brown of the forewing, except towards the dorsum, and between them the pallid outline of the discal spot may be evident. The female is wingless.

Taxonomic notes. This species is closely related to O. australis Walker in Australia. Riotte (1979) also distinguished O. papuana Riotte from Australia and New Guinea, noting that it differed from postica in male genitalic features. The genitalia slide of the type of postica has features such as a triangular process on the dorsal arm of the valve that are seen in the next species, osseata Walker, but not in other Oriental specimens of postica examined. It is likely that the wrong abdomen has been associated with the type of postica and that therefore papuana may be its eastern race, replaced by australis in southern Queensland and New South Wales. There are also similar species in Africa. The type of nebulosa Walker (Sarawak) does not appear to differ from postica. The identity of the somewhat larger Sumatran species with a more produced forewing apex referred to nebulosa by Schintlmeister (1994) requires investigation.

Geographical range. Oriental tropics and east to New Guinea.

Habitat preference. The species is common in the lowlands, often in cultivated areas such as plantations, but also in coastal, swamp and heath forests.

Biology. The larva has been described and illustrated frequently, the latter by Murphy (1990), Wang (1993) and Kuroko & Lewvanich (1993). The head, legs and prolegs are pale red. The body is longitudinally banded in dark brown and, more narrowly, pale yellow, with the anterior and posterior hair tufts bundled dark brown. The four dorsal brushes are conspicuously pale yellow, the first two accompanied by lateroventral white pencils on each side.

The list of host-plants is very long, and the larva probably has a much wider dietary range. It is drawn from Sevastopulo (1938, 1940), Pholboon (1965), Browne (1968), Yunus & Ho (1980), Kuroko & Lewvanich (1993), Hutacherern & Tubtim (1995) and various unpublished sources (Bell, MS; FRIM and IIE records). It includes Buchanania, Mangifera (Anacardiaceae); Durio, Ochroma (Bombacaceae); Casuarina (Casuarinaceae); Terminalia (Combretaceae); Shorea (Dipterocarpaceae); Hevea, Ricinus (Euphorbiaceae); Pelargonium (Geraniaceae); Cinnamomum (Lauraceae); Acacia, Albizia, Caesalpinia, Cajanus, Cassia, Dalbergia, Erythrina, Pithecellobium, Pterocarpus, Sesbania, Xylia, (Leguminosae); Lagerstroemia (Lythraceae); Eucalyptus, Tristania (Myrtaceae); Zizyphus (Rhamnaceae); Malus (Rosaceae); Coffea (Rubiaceae); Citrus (Rutaceae); Santalum (Santalaceae); Dimocarpus, Litchi, Nephelium (Sapindaceae); Theobroma (Sterculiaceae); Camellia (Theaceae); Grewia (Tiliaceae); Tectona (Verbenaceae).

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