Dysodia siccifolia Moore | The Pyralids of Borneo

Family: &nbsp; Thyrididae
Subfamily: &nbsp; Thyridinae
Genus: &nbsp; Dysodia
Distribution: West Bengal, Assam, Sikkim, Philippines.
Habitat: Hill forest.
Wing Length: 28mm

Taxonomy

Same specimen as figured in RTS; India, Assam. The holotype of Eutelia siccifolia Moore, 1881a:275 from Darjeeling is in the Staudinger Collection in the MfNB Berlin.

Description

Fresh specimens have a distinct greenish tinge but this fades to leave an ochreous brown. There is a narrow, linear fenestra on the distinctively scalloped HW. There are two apparent ssp: ssp. siccifolia (Moore, 1881a), India; ssp. 1 unnamed, Philippines, is much darker. It has a strangely discontinuous distribution.

Similar Species

See D. viridatrix which is similar but has a broader HW fenestra.

Life History

It feeds on Capparis sp. (Capparidaceae) and it may be a polyphagous stem borer.