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Ercheia
cyllaria Cramer
Noctua
cyllaria Cramer, [1779] 1782, Uitlandsche Kapellen,
3: 100.
Achaea cyllota Guenée,
1852, Hist.
Nat. Insectes, Spec. gén. Lépid. 7: 248.
Achaea
fusifera Walker,
1858, List
Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 14: 1398.
Achaea
signivitta Walker,
1858, List
Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 14: 1398.
Achaea
polychroma Walker,
1858, List
Specimens lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus., 14: 1400.
Achaea
atrivitta Walker,
1864, J.
Linn. Soc. (Zool.), 7: 181.
Achaea
purpureilinea Walker,
1864, J.
Linn. Soc. (Zool.), 7: 181.
Achaea
semipallida Walker,
1864, J.
Linn. Soc. (Zool.), 7: 181.
Ercheia
tenebrosa Moore,
1867, Proc.
zool. Soc. Lond., 1867: 66.
Melipotis
gundiana Felder, 1874, Reise öst. Fregatte Novara,
Lep: pl. 116, f. 10.
Melipotis
costipannosa Moore,
1882, Descr.
new Indian lepid. Insects Colln W.S.
Atkinson:
166.
Ercheia
pannosa Moore,
1883, Proc.
zool. Soc. Lond., 1883: 24.
Ercheia
uniformis Moore,
1883, Proc.
zool. Soc. Lond., 1883: 24.
Ercheia
anvira Swinhoe, 1918, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist (9) 2:
77, syn.
n.
Ercheia cyllaria Cramer; Holloway, 1976: 30; Kobes, 1985: 36.
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Ercheia
cyllaria  |
Ercheia
cyllaria |
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| Ercheia
cyllaria |
Ercheia
cyllaria  |
Ercheia
cyllaria |
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Diagnosis.
This is a highly variable species as illustrated (see also Kobes (1985)), but
its forms are best distinguished by eliminating the possibility of a specimen
being one of the remainder discussed.
Taxonomic
note. The taxon anvira Swinhoe, described from G. Kinabalu, is
merely another form of cyllaria.
Geographical
range. Indian Subregion, Taiwan, Japan, Indochina, Thailand, Peninsular
Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Seram, Kei. Habitat preference. This is a very common species from the
lowlands to 2000m and has been recorded as high as 2600m. It is often common in
secondary forest and softwood plantations also (Chey, 1994).
Biology.
Bell (MS) described the larva. The prolegs on A4 are slightly reduced, those on
A3 half-sized. There are small dorsolateral tubercles on A8 and A9 set on
slightly swollen transverse ridges. In the penultimate instar, the head is very
pale pink, with a soiled appearance and marked in black and brown. The body
above is dark chocolate-brown, finely marbled with yellow that also forms
indistinct bands subdorsally and on each side of the spiracles. Ventrally there
is a jet black central band, flanked by yellow, that expands between the prolegs
into patches. The prolegs are pinkish. The anal prolegs bear a black,
spectacle-like mark. The final instar has the head light yellow in ground colour,
the body similar to before, but with more red ventrally between the anterior two
pairs of prolegs. Variants are more variegated with very pale green stippled
with dark brown, or light yellowish brown, dotted with chocolate spots and lined
with slightly paler bands. Possibly the larva is as variable as the adult.
Pupation
is in a cell made from leaves cut to form a sort of triangular tag joined with
silk. The surface of the pupa is finely granular, but does not have a powdery
bloom.
Host
plants recorded (Robinson et al., 2001) are Asparagus
(Asparagaceae),
Brassica
(Cruciferae),
Dalbergia
(Leguminosae),
Grewia
(Tiliaceae)
and indeterminate Gramineae. Bell (MS) suggested the diet might be much wider.
The adult is noted as a fruit piercer in Thailand (Bänziger, 1982; Kuroko &
Lewvanich, 1993).
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