Noctuoidea, Nolidae? 2007/06/15 TPK





[ Last edited by  hkmoths at 2010-7-30 10:33 ]

Arctiidae- Cyana sp..
alborosea?????

May be Cyana hamata.

Male of Cyana fasciola

C. hamata does not occur in HK; this name has erroneously been applied in the past to females of C. fasciola.

cheers,

Roger.

C. hamata, given as 'Chionaema hamata Walker', has been claimed to occur in Hong Kong by many including Inoue et al., 2001 [Inoue, H., M. Okano, T. Shirozu, S. Sugi and H. Yamamoto, 2001.  Inconographia Insectorum Japonicorum Colore Naturali Edita Vol. 1.  Hokuryukan.]    As Inoue, Shirozu, Sugi and Yamaoto are all renown lepidopterists, I am still awaiting reference showing clear distinction between C. hamata and C. fasciola before the name 'hamata' is removed from my record.

These references in the Japanese literature were based upon a misidentification by J.D.Bradley of material collected by the Oxford University expedition to HK in 1981. I have seen the material in the BMNH and the error is true.

I have attached a photo of the two species (males only) that points out the main external differences (genitalia differences are shown, I think, but I need to check, in Fang (2000) Fauna Sinica Insecta part twentysomething: Lepidoptera - Arctiidae). Females both have a single black dot and hamata has finer red fasciae. If you want me to describe the differences in the photo I will, but when I have more time. (as they say, a picture says 1000 words!)

the photo credits:
C. hamata - Moths of Japan: http://www.jpmoth.org/Arctiidae/ ... _hamata_hamata.html
C. fasciola - see posting at start of this thread
Both have been cropped and reoriented to facilitate easy comparison.

hope this helps.

cheers,

Roger.

[ Last edited by  hkmoths at 2007-6-21 10:52 ]

Thanks for the hard work in the illustration.

O.k. - now back at home and Fang (2000) FSI 19 lies open in front of me. No genitalia illustrations for these two species, but a key to Cyana is given (both in Chinese and English).
C. fasciola keys out early on due to the presence of a long hair tuft on the ventral surface of the forewing; C. hamata keys out a lot later (over 30 spp. later!).

There are, to my knowledge, four Cyana species that have been recorded in the last 25 years in Hong Kong:

C. fasciola; C. alborosea; C. cantonensis; C. interrogationis

photos (as prepared from the forthcoming Illustrated Guide to the Moths of Hong Kong, plate 61) illustrate (to scale) the above species as follows:

9 = C. interrogationis ♂

3 = C. fasciola ♀  10 = C. fasciola ♂

4 & 5 = C. alborosea ♀  11 & 12 = C. alborosea ♂

6 & 7 = C. cantonensis ♀  13 & 14 = C. cantonensis ♂

5, 7, 12 & 14 are ventral (verso) views.

Fang also lists C. harterti (Ewles, 1890) for Hong Kong, (indeed it's the type location!), and gives the range as China (Guangdong, Hainan, Yunnan, Hong Kong), India, Singapore and Vietnam. The illustration, though is impossible to make anything of as its woefully overexposed; though it appears to be a similar size to C. fasciola. It is illustrated on the Moths of Japan website (found in the Ryukyu Islands), though (http://www.jpmoth.org/Arctiidae/Lithosiinae/Cyana_harterti.html), and appears very distinctive - not something I've seen here in Hong Kong.

It is not beyond the realms of impossibility that several other Cyana species could occur, as they occur in at least two provinces from Guangxi, Guangdong, Taiwan and Hainan. These are Cyana hamata, C. sanguinea, C. guttifera and C. effracta.

cheers,

Roger.

[ Last edited by  hkmoths at 2012-9-4 13:42 ]

Brilliant!