Albuna zoniota Turner 1922

Albuna zoniota (Turner)

Paranthrene zoniota Turner, 1922:62

Paranthrene zonionota [sic] Turner, Dala Torre, and Strand, 1925:169

MALE—Unknown

FEMALE—Head with vertex brown-black; occipital fringe white, brown-black dorsally; antennae brown-black; front mostly white, some brown-black medially; labial palpus smooth, mostly white but with brown-black at base and apex, also dorsally and laterally on distal one-half of segment 2 Thorax brown-black with very narrow subdorsal white stripes, and white laterally on collar Abdomen brown-black; dorsally with segment 4 banded white on posterior margin; ventrally with some white on posterior margin of each segment; anal tuft brushlike, brown-black Legs mostly brown-black with white on coxa and femur of foreleg, on tibial tufts, and at joints of tarsal segments Forewing mostly hyaline, but with apical margin fairly broad, discal spot well developed, slightly oblique, margins, discal spot, and veins brown-black Hindwing hyaline with brown-black on narrow margins, rectangular discal spot, and veins Wing length of female, 11 mm Female genitalia (Figure 22) with ductus bursae sclerotized near ostium bursae, gradually expanding in anterior one-half to elongate, relatively narrow corpus bursae

TYPE—Holotype: Female, in National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne: “Claudie R, 281214”; “Paranthrene zoniota Turn, Type”; “Type, T-4460”; “Gentialia Slide By T D Eichlin, USNM 76149 ”

TYPE-LOCALITY—Claudie River [Cape York Peninsula], Queensland

HOST-PLANT—Unknown

DISCUSSION—This species is known only from the female holotype, which lacks accompanying biological data The month and the sex on the above specimen do not agree with the data given in the original description, but this specimen is the only one known to us, is from the correct locality, has Turner’s type-label affixed, and is deposited in the museum to which Turner referred It is our opinion that the two discrepancies are errors, and the above-listed specimen is in fact the holotype of Turner

SESIINAE Boisduval, 1828:29 [type-genus: Sesia Fabricus, 1775]

AEGERIINAE sensu LeCerf, 1917:148—Naumann, 1971:58 [synonymy]

SESIINAE Boisduval—Naumann, 1971:58 [in part]

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS—Head with maxillary palpus (Figure 1e) 2-segmented, second segment much reduced in most species; antennae clavate with terminal scale tuft, with short cilia ventrally on male, pectinate only on certain species of Melittiini and Sesiini (not on species in this study); eyes average proportionately larger than species of Paranthreninae and Tinthiinae Forewing (Figures 5, 6, and 7) generally with stalk of veins R4 and R5 one-half or less than one-half the total length of R4 or R5; Cu2 as in the Paranthreninae Hindwing with vein M3 and Cu1, short-stalked distad of crossvein except in the Melittiini, which has M3 arising from Cu1, well basad of crossvein as in Tinthiini; 1A degenerate, its prior position indicated by a line of scales on wing fold, 2A, 3A, and 4A present Male genitalia generally with tegumen and uncus fused, with exact limits of each difficult to determine; gnathos most often well developed; socii present, varying; subscaphium present; vinculum narrow, saccus often elongate; valva variously modified, often with specialized scales

DISCUSSION—The Sesiinae contain the largest number of species by a wide margin when the family is viewed on a world basis Within the area of the present study, there are seven species in three genera, representing two tribes, Melittiini and Synanthedonini

This highly successful group is, in our opinion, the most advanced subfamily in the Sesiidae, being more highly evolved in morphological specializations and behavioral adaptations The various tribes of Sesiinae are quite diverse; however, within each tribe the species display a great deal of structural homogeneity

MELITTIINI LeCerf, 1917:148 [type-genus: Melittia Hubner, 1819]

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS—Head with second segment of maxillary palpus nearly as large as first segment; antennae strongly clavate, short cilia ventrally on male (pectinate on some species in other parts of the world) Hindwing with vein M3 arising from Cu1 well basad of crossvein as in species of Tinthiini Male genitalia with valve thick, well sclerotized, mostly naked at least on basal one-half, simple spinelike scales concentrated into dense dark patches apically; saccus thick, often long, as long as valva in some species; uncus most often bifurcate apically with socii generally represented by dense dark pads of short spinelike scales on mesal surface

DISCUSSION—In Australia this tribe consists of a single genus, Melittia, with two known species The group is distributed worldwide, its range undoubtedly influenced by the evolution and dispersal of its principal host-plants, species of the family Cucurbitaceae

Melittia Hubner, 1819:128 [type-species: Melittia anthedoniformis Hubner, 1819, now considered a synonym of Sphinx bombiliformis Cramer 1782]

Poderis Boisduval, 1874:433 [type-species: Melittia anthedoniformis Hubner, 1819]

DISCUSSION—This easily recognized genus contains some of the largest and most colorful species of sesiids The genus Melittia in eastern and southeastern Asia south to Australia is comprised of a complex of closely related species, some highly variable in maculation Apart from those characters mentioned above for the tribe Melittiini and those described in detail later for the species, the following structures are unique to Melittia: head and eyes proportionately larger than most other species of Sesiidae, with plate of broad flat scales projecting from beneath scape of antenna over middle of eye; hindleg with tibia and tarsi most often very strongly tufted, particularly mesally and dorsally