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Brunia
sarawaca Butler stat. rev.
Lithosia
sarawaca Butler, 1877, Trans. ent.
Soc. London, 1877: 350.
Eilema
griseadisca Holloway, 1982: 210, syn.
n.
Diagnosis. The
wings of the male are a rather ochreous fawn. The greyish border to the forewing
is diagnostic for males of this and the next species but is narrower in sarawaca;
an areole is often present. Females resemble those of antica and can
only be separated reliably by the genitalia (see
Brunia apicalis Walker comb.n.).
Taxonomic note. Association
of males and females needs confirmation by rearing. The male genitalia show many
generic features, though the ventral margin to the saccular process is strongly
angled. The aedeagus lacks coarse spining at its apex (the anellus is spined)
but is otherwise more or less typical of the genus. The female genitalia have
features in common with antica, such as a basal appendix to the elongate
bursa within a more sclerotised basal half, but the appendix and the basal
portion are broader, the latter expanded and sclerotised on both sides rather
than just one. The ductus is more constricted. The name sarawaca was
placed along with B. antica Walker (see
Brunia antica Walker comb. rev.) as a synonym of the
African B. vicaria Walker by Hampson (1900). It is not conspecific with
either, but the holotype female has genitalia as in griseadisca Holloway.
Geographical range. Borneo,
Peninsular Malaysia, Java, N.E. Himalaya.
Habitat preference. The
species is of irregular occurrence in lowland forest, particularly alluvial
forest.
Biology. The
larva was described and illustrated for Java (as apicalis) by
Piepers & Snellen (1904). It is densely covered with dark grey hairs from
which emerge several long black ones. There is a dorsal black band that contains
a lighter grey spot centrally. The head is mostly yellow, with two black spots,
but is usually retracted. Pupation is in a dense cocoon and takes about 12 days.
The host-plants are mosses or lichen growing on trees, but the larva has also
been found on the leaves of Tamarindus (Leguminosae) and Eugenia (Myrtaceae).
It is not stated whether these were browsing on epiphytes or feeding on the leaf
tissue.
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