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REVISION OF
NYCTEMERA HUBNER AND RELATED GENERA (LEPIDOPTERA:
ARCTIIDAE, NYCTEMERINAE)
Drs Rob de
Vos
Introduction
Nyctemera Hübner,
[1820] is a large and heterogenous genus with about
60 species in Asia and 26 in Africa. Its taxonomy is very
complex. The black and white colour-pattern on the wings,
generally used for the determination of the species, appears
no longer valid as the only decisive factor since many
species of various genera tend to be similar as a result of
mimicry. Study of the genitalia has shown that the tribus
Nyctemerini (Arctiinae) is in a taxonomic mess and needs a
thorough revision. The high number of species is striking,
especially in Oriental Asia and the Papuan region. The
innumerable islands in this region led to the forming of a
great number of (sub-) species and island-forms. It became
clear that many of the presently described "species" are in
fact subspecies or (local) forms of widely distributed
species. Nevertheless new species are still being
discovered, hidden in museum collections, or are even
recently collected.
A revision is necessary to reveal
all mistakes and problems in this genus. When this is
completed, a phylogenetic study will follow to arrange all
species in cladistic diagrams.
Results
The following papers have been
published. Of each paper copies are still available via
e-mail.
- Nyctemera
groenendaeli spec. nov. from New Guinea (Lepidoptera:
Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae).
Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo,
N.F. 15(4): 481-489 (1995).
Abstract: Nyctemera
groenendaeli, a new
species of Nyctemerinae from New Guinea, is described
(holotype in Amsterdam). The species appears to be very
closely related to N.
coleta(Stoll, 1782),
as indicated by similarity in genitalia. The pattern on
the wings, however, is very different. Only eight
specimens are known of this species, seven males and one
female. N. groenendaeli seems restricted to the
eastern half of New Guinea with the westernmost sites in
Irian Jaya near the Papuan border.
- A revision of Nyctemera
consobrina (Hopffer, 1874) with redescriptions of
three subspecies (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae,
Nyctemerinae)
Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo,
N.F. 16(1): 81-93 (1995).
Abstract: Nyctemera
consobrina (Hopffer, 1874), ), an Arctiid species
from Sulawesi and Flores, is revised. Three subspecies
are recognised,
N. consobrina consobrina(Hopffer,
1874),
N. consobrina delocyma(Swinhoe,
1917) and N.
consobrina basinigraNieuwenhuis,
1948. Deilemera everetti Swinhoe, 1917 is
synonymized with N. consobrina delocyma. A
redescription of all subspecies is given and a map of
their distribution is presented.
- Nyctemera pseudokala
sp. nov. and N. mastrigti sp. nov., two new
species from Indonesia (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae,
Nyctemerinae).
Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo,
N.F. 17(3): 301-311 (1996).
Abstract: Two new species of the
Arctiid genus Nyctemera Hübner,
[1820] are described. Nyctemera
pseudokala sp. nov.
from Buru is presumably closely related to
N.
kala (Swinhoe, 1892)
from the Kai Islands, which is indicated by external
characters and similarities in genitalia.
Nyctemera
mastrigti sp. nov.
is found in the Central Mountains of Irian
Jaya.
- A revision of Nyctemera
kebeae (Bethune-Baker, 1904) (with descriptions of
two new subspecies) and N. warmasina
(Bethune-Baker, 1910) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae,
Nyctemerinae).
Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo,
N.F. 18(1): 1-12 (1997).
Abstract: Nyctemera kebeae
(Bethune-Baker, 1904) and N. warmasina
(Bethune-Baker, 1910), two closely related species from
New Guinea, are revised. Three subspecies of N. kebeae
are recognised and described, N.
kebeae kebeae
(Bethune-Baker, 1904) (lectotype in BMNH, Londen) from
the Owen Stanley Range (Papua New Guinea),
N.
kebeae intermedia
subsp. nov. (holotype in ZMA, Amsterdam) from the
Star Mountains (Irian Jaya) and N.
kebeae occidentalis
subsp. nov. (holotype in ZMA) from the western part of
the Central Mountains (Irian Jaya). Nyctemera
warmasina (holotype
in BMNH), from the Arfak Mountains (Irian Jaya), is
included in this revision, since it is very closely
related to N. kebeae.
- The identity of Nyctemera
simulatrix Walker, 1864 (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae,
Nyctemerinae)
Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo,
N.F. 18(2/3): 205-210 (1997).
Abstract: The true identity of
Nyctemera simulatrix Walker, 1864 is revealed,
after more than eighty years of misidentification. The
holotypes of N. simulatrix and N.
baulus nisa
(Swinhoe, 1903), with which simulatrix was
confounded, are pictured and a revised taxonomic review
is given. The recently revised N. consobrina
(Hopffer, 1874) is synonymized with
simulatrix.
- A review of the Philippine
species of the genus Nyctemera Hübner,
[1820] with descriptions of new species and
subspecies (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae) - Rob
de Vos & Karel Cerny
Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo,
N.F. 20(2): 133-188 (1999).
Abstract: A review is given of
the species of the genus Nyctemera Hübner,
[1820], occuring in the Philippines. Six new
species,
N. contrasta n.
sp., consobriniformis
n. sp., palawanica
n. sp., undulata
n. sp., robusta
n. sp. and lunulata
n. sp., and three subspecies, N.
contrasta negrosica
n. ssp., N.
contrasta supracontrasta
n. ssp. and N.
luzonensis squalida
n. ssp., are described. Nyctemera apoensis
Kishida, 1994 is found to be a homonym of
N.
apensisSemper, 1899
and is given a replacement name, N.
kishidai nom.
nov. Six taxa are found to be synonyms: Nyctemera
alternata Walker, 1866, and Leptosoma proprium
Swinhoe, 1892 are synonymized with N.
radiataWalker, 1856;
N. luctuosum rostrigera Prout, 1918 is synonymized
with N.
luctuosa galbana
(Swinhoe, 1892) (the latter being a comb.nov.);
Migoplastis philippinensis Rothschild, 1933 is
synonymized with N.
gratia (Schultze,
1910); Deilemera purata Swinhoe, 1917 is
synonymized with N.
sontica(Swinhoe,
1892); and N. latistriga negritorum Seitz, 1915 is
synonymized with N.
latistriga latistriga
Walker, 1854. The species of the genera
Deilemera Hübner, [1820] and
Pitasila Moore, 1877, are excluded in this review.
Other taxa of the genus-group of which the taxonomic
position is not yet clear and which should possibly be
regarded as separate genera are, for the time being,
treated in this review as belonging to Nyctemera.
The habitus of all (sub-)species is depicted, and an
identification key is given (Appendix), and the genitalia
of all new species are figured. A general map of the
Philippines, with the Islands mentioned in the text, is
provided.
- Revision of the Nyctemera
evergista group (= subgenus Deilemera Hübner)
(Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Arctiinae,
Nyctemerini).
Nachrichten des Entomologischen
Vereins Apollo, N.F. 23(1/2): 7-32 (2002).
Abstract: The evergista group of
the arctiid genus Nyctemera Hübner,
[1820] is revised and listed in a concise
checklist. The species group is confined to
Indo-Australia, represented by seven species. One new
species, N. swinhoei n. sp.
(holo-
type in Zoologisch Museum
Amsterdam [ZMAN]), and three new subspecies,
N. muelleri mentawaiensis n. ssp. (holotype in
Natural History Museum, London [BMNH]), N.
maculata variamacula n. ssp. (holotype in ZMAN) and
N. evergista bismarckiana n. ssp. (holotype in
BMNH), are described.
Four taxa are found to be new
synonyms: Nyctemera mülleri enganica Roepke,
1957 is synonymized with N. muelleri eddela
(Swinhoe, 1904); N. aeres vandenberghi Roepke,
1957 and Deilemera leuctra Swinhoe, 1903 are
synonymized with N. gerra (Swinhoe, 1903); and
Leptosoma aeres De Boisduval, 1832 is synonymized
partly with N. evergista evergista Stoll, 1782 and
partly with N. evergista agagles De Boisduval,
1832.
The lectotypes of the following
taxa are designated (with depository in brackets):
Leptosoma mülleri Snellen van Vollenhoven,
1863 (Naturalis, Leiden [RMNH]); Deilemera
gerra Swinhoe, 1903 (BMNH); Deilemera leuctra
Swinhoe, 1903 (BMNH); Leptosoma noviespunctatum
Snellen van Vollenhoven, 1863 (RMNH).
The evergista species
group formerly was treated as a separate genus,
Deilemera Hübner, [1820], by many
authors. Deilemera is now dealt with as a synonym
of
Nyctemera, and can at
most be regarded as a subgenus. Also the status of
Arctata Roepke, 1949, is revised as a subgenus of
Nyctemera (stat. rev.). The habitus of all
(sub-)species is depicted, and an identification key is
given in an Appendix.
The genitalia of all species are
figured and a distribution map is
provided.
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