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Chilkasa
falcata Swinhoe
Chilkasa
falcata Swinhoe, 1885, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond.,
1885: 854.
Pleurona
perhamata Hampson, 1894, Fauna Br. India, Moths,
2: 549.
Acygonia
difformis Roepke, 1948, Tijdschr. Ent.,
89: 226.
Chilkasa
falcata Swinhoe; Holloway, 1976: 38.
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Chilkasa
falcata  |
Chilkasa
falcata |
Diagnosis.
There is strong sexual dimorphism but the sexes share distinctly falcate
forewings and darker postmedial fasciae that divide off the distal third of all
wings. The male has the forewing apex more produced but less falcate and the
secondary angle of the margin is reduced relative to that of the female. The
hindwing margin is angled in the female, but not in the male. The female is a
uniform brownish grey whereas the male is paler than this basal to the fasciae
and darker distal to them. The male forelegs are strikingly tufted with pale
yellow and brownish scales.
Taxonomic
note. Poole (1989) used perhamata as
the valid name for this species on the grounds that it was a replacement name
for a secondary homonym proposed before 1961 (Code of Zoological Nomenclature
edn. 4, Article 59.3), and should therefore stand even if the relevant taxa
cease to be considered congeneric. However, this Article also indicates that the
junior homonym should be retained (in the interests of stability) if the
replacement name ‘is not in use’. Hampson’s personal copy of his 1894
publication, now in BMNH, is heavily annotated by him and indicates that he
regarded the synonymy of Chilkasa
with
Pleurona
Walker
as mistaken and that he considered the combination of Chilkasa
falcata as valid. Subsequent usage (e.g. Nye, 1975) has favoured falcata
as
the name for this species and therefore this name is given precedence.
Geographical
range. Indian Subregion, Thailand (VK), Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra,
Borneo, Philippines.
Habitat
preference. The species has been recorded from forested localities from the
lowlands to 1930m, but is far commoner in the montane part of this range (1000m
and above). However, Chey (1994) recorded a number of specimens from lowland
softwood plantations.
Biology.
Gardner (1947) described the larva. It is green, with the prolegs on A3 and A4
strongly reduced, those on A4 slightly larger.
No
details were given of the pupa, and the host plant was not identified.
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