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Barasa alopha
Hampson
Barasa
alopha
Hampson, 1896, Fauna Br. India, Moths, 4: 525.
Diagnosis.
This is a smaller species than
acronyctoides
but with similar or darker forewing colour and a similarly strongly sinuous
postmedial. However, the posterior section of this, together with a dark discal
bar, combine to give the impression of a transverse, dark, broken medial band.
The hindwings are white or grey, grading darker towards the apex.
Geographical range.
Indian Subregion,
Burma, Sundaland, Sulawesi.
Habitat preference.
Only two Bornean
specimens have been seen, from the lowlands of Kalimantan near Pontianak and the
other from lowland forest at Labi in Brunei.
Biology.
Gardner (1943) and Bell (MS)
reared the species in India. The larva is rather lymantriid-like, with secondary
setae on verrucae that are dorsolateral, lateral and subspiracular. Most
segments are velvety black dorsally, but T2, T3 and A4-6 are suffused and
marbled with yellowish grey except for a dorsal line and a ring round each
verruca which remain black. There is a broken, light yellow subspiracular band
and intersegmental rings of the same colour over A8-10. A large dorsal orange
patch straddles the junction of A8 and A9. The venter is light grey, speckled
darker. The tufts of setae on verrucae are generally dark grey on T1, the
dorsolaterals long and prominent. Those of T2, T3, A4 and A5 are light yellow,
and those of A1-3 are orange. Shorter hairs may be a yellowish white and longer
ones anteriorly and posteriorly being curved and a dark brown. There are also
feathery white hairs incorporated in each tuft. The head is round, smooth,
ferruginous.
Pupation is similar to that of B. acronyctoides, but the cocoon is peaked
at both ends and has a further double peak centrally.
The host plant recorded was Terminalia (Combretaceae).
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