Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Lichenaula drosias



Lichenaula drosias Lower, 1899


ANIC

ANIC

Lichenaula drosias Lower, 1899, Descriptions of new Australian Lepidoptera. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24: 83–116 [102]. Syntype(s) SAMA number unknown ♂♀, Broken Hill, NSW.
Lichenaula drosias Low. Lower, 1917, The Lepidoptera of Broken Hill, New South Wales. Part III. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 41, 369-477 [370].
Lichenaula drosias Lower, 1899. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [87].
Xylorycta drosias (Lower, 1899). Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 23 April 2010].
Lichenaula drosias Lower, 1899. Edwards, E. D. (2003), Xyloryctinae. Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/XYLORYCTINAE [accessed 18 June 2010].

Original description, Lower 1899
Lichenaula drosias, n. sp.
♂♀ 20-22 mm. Head, palpi and thorax ashy-grey-whitish, thorax narrowly snow-white anteriorly, second joint of palpi with a suffused whitish apical ring, more whitish internally. Antennae blackish, annulated with white. Anterior and middle legs fuscous; tarsi blackish, ringed with white; posterior legs whitish. Abdomen fuscous, beneath white, segmental margin grey-whitish. Forewings moderate, rather short, hardly dilated, costa hardly arched, except at base, hindmargin oblique; 7 to apex; white, very finely irrorated with black and grey scales, so as to appear ashy-grey-whitish; extreme costal edge whitish; a small blotch-like suffusion in disc at 2/5 from base, more or less connected by a fine black line from base to middle; the blotch is immediately followed by a well marked spot of groundcolour; an obscure row of blackish spots along apical fifth of costa: cilia blackish, chequered with whitish and grey-whitish points; terminal edge black. Hindwings pale greyish-fuscous; cilia whitish, with pale fuscous basal and subterminal lines.
Broken Hill, N.S.W.; several specimens in October and November.

Other references

LICHENAULA DROSIAS, Low.
Not uncommon, October and November. (Lower, 1917).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period:  October, November.
Distribution: New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).

Remarks: