This monograph is the twelfth to be published in a
series planned on the Bornean ‘macrolepidoptera’ superfamilies Cossoidea,
Zygaenoidea. Bombycoidea (including Sphingidae), Noctuoidea, Geometroidea,
Calliduloidea and Castnioidea. Parts will appear over the next few years as
regularly as the vagaries of life permit. The parts printed and dates of
publication so far are shown on the back cover.
The author is in frequent communication with the
Heterocera Sumatrana team organised by Dr E.W. Diehl, and the two series of
publications complement each other to provide, for the first time, fully
illustrated reference works to a large proportion (25%
in the case of the Geometridae) of the very rich South East
Asian and Sundanian macrolepidoptera fauna. In turn, they complement a Japanese
series on The Moths of Nepal, published
as supplements to the journal Tinea.
The series is based on a large amount of recently
collected material that gives some indication of habitat preference for the
species concerned. Data on early stages and host-plants are being collated and
reviewed.
Literature on the Oriental fauna is voluminous but
often without illustrations and with poor superficial descriptions. Synonymy
presented often proves to be erroneous. Generic placements and higher
classification are often found to be similarly superficial on close examination.
This problem is dealt with more fully in the author’s introduction for his
Taxonomic Appendix to H.S. Barlow’s An
Introduction to the Moths of South East Asia. This series on the moths of
Borneo is seen as an opportunity to establish a fresh, more stable foundation
for the study of the Indo-Australian tropical macrolepidoptera, an opportunity
facilitated by access to the wealth of historical material held in The Natural
History Museum, London, and other European Museums. The centralisation of this
material is a boon for the comparative studies necessary to provide the stable
foundation just referred to.
The reader must be prepared, however, for major
changes to previously accepted generic, or even subfamilial placements. For
example, in this part, the many species previously placed in genera Asura
and Miltochrista are distributed amongst more apposite genera.
As the series is completed it may be revised and
reissued in three or four bound volumes as a complete reference work. A field
guide incorporating the colour plates is also being considered. Negotiations are
in progress in Malaysia to produce an Internet edition, and a trial version of
Part 3 of this series may be found at <http://www.arbec.com.my/moths/index.htm>.
London
2001 J.D.H.
Hard copy is available from:
Southdene Sdn Bhd
P.O Box 10139
50704 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Phone : +603 4022 2653
Fax : +603 4022 2267
Email : hsbar@pc.jaring.my
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