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Synegia
obscura Warren stat. rev.
Syntaracta obscura Warren,
1894, Novit. zool. 1: 408.
Synegia varians Warren; sensu Holloway, 1976: 83.
Diagnosis. This species and the two following can readily be confused, and
reference to the male genitalia is advisable. In this species the fasciae are
most clearly defined, particularly the biarcuate forewing antemedial; the
fasciae are weakest in S. imitaria Walker. The antemedial is somewhat
more oblique in varians, meeting the costa at a more acute angle basad.
In obscura there is usually an irregular ring of orange-grey on the
hindwing submarginally between M1 and M3 (in the ‘ocellate’ species
discussed later the ocellus is between M3 and CuA1) The male antennae are
perhaps more narrowly bipectinate in obscura and camptogrammaria compared
with imitaria. In imitaria the orange speckling and blotches
between the fasciae tend to be stronger, coarser, more orange rather than grey;
the forewings of the male are narrower than in the other two species. In the
male genitalia S. camptogrammaria can be distinguished from obscura by
the presence of a row of peg-like setae on the valve and two strong, short
cornuti in the aedeagus vesica. S. imitaria has a strong subbasal lobe on
the valve costa, a prominent juxta and two long cornuti in the vesica. The
saccus is strongly bilobed in obscura and camptogrammaria but
hardly at all in imitaria. In the female, all three have an elongate
basal section to the bursa but it is fluted only in imitaria. The signum
is central in the distal part of the bursa and typical of the genus. The distal
part of the bursa is more elongate in camptogrammaria. Other species that
would be confused with these three are asymbates Prout and some morphs of
potenza Holloway. (See Synegia potenza
Holloway)
Taxonomic notes. The species was placed in synonymy with camptogrammaria. It was
identified as S. varians Warren by Holloway (1976), a species described
from two females from Peninsular Malaysia. The facies in varians and obscura
is similar but the female genitalia differ: the signum in varians is
relatively larger and set more distally in the bursa; the ductus is short,
evenly sclerotised in obscura but twice as long, sclerotised more
strongly over the distal half in varians.
Geographical range. S. India, Borneo.
Habitat preference. The species is frequent in upper montane forest.
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