Plutographa reducta, spec. nov. (fig. 8-10, 40-41)
Male 19 mm. Head white. Antenna fuscous, scape white. Labial palpus pale tawny, apex
of median segment white, terminal segment small acute white. Thorax light leaden-grey touched
with pale tawny. Abdomen glossy pale fuscous grey.
Fore wing oblong-subtruncate, costa gently curved throughout, more so at base, apex obtuse,
termen sinuate above, rounded beneath, little oblique. Glossy white, partly suffused with pale ful-
vous, suffusion tending to form faint transverse striation especially in middle of wing and partly
leaving irregular white margins to dark markings. Markings black. Basai patch indicated by an
angulate transverse band from 1/4 of costa to 1/3 of dorsum, outer edge broadly convex, with a
small projection in fold and interrupted at upper third; so dividing band in a suboval oblique costal
spol and an inwards-oblique slightly broader spot on dorsum ; inside this band the basai patch with
an irregular subtriangular mark at base of costa and a strongly zigzag horizontal line from base of
dorsum, its last part running along fold to the black band; costa along base suffused with leaden-
grey between black marks and with a pair of black minute striae beyond band, followed by a curved
fasciate patch from just before middle, curving posterad ; its top bearing a small clavate appendage ;
top of this filled out with snow-white, forming a round spot at 3/4 of wing ; costa black posteriorly,
with five pairs of white stritgulae, two anterior small and slender, others increasing apicad; a black
spot filling out apex ; an irregular oval spot in dise before termen below apex and a larger subtrian-
gular spot on end of dorsum ; some white marks on upper third of terminal edge ; ocelloid spot
roundish and large, indicated only by thin silvery lateral edges. Cilia pale tawny-fulvous, with a
greyish apical suffusion.
Hind wing evenly pinkish-bronze. Cilia concolorous, with at thin whitish basai line, cilia
along lower half of termen and along dorsum whitish.
Male genitalia. Tegumen broad and slightly drepressed. Uncus long, with a broad base,
dilated by bases of socii, top of uncus flat and short, with rather broad obtuse arms. Socii rather
long, thick densely short-haired on the inside and at apex. Subscaphium with a round median plate.
Valva heavy with a thickened sacculus, harpe indicated by a small group of spinulae, a strong inci-
sion and a large massive cucullus obliquely rising and densely haired except on dorsum. Aedeagus
rather short, slightly dilated at base and with a small point below orifice.
The male has the characteristic pale pinkish-fuscous suffusion that in the conspecific females
is more cinereous-tinged anteriorly and light tawny posteriorly, while their hind wings are paler
and ochreous-orange. The dark markings appear also different, but closer comparison shows that
they must be sex partners. This dimorphism becomes evident from the following separate diagnosis
of the female.
Female 17-18 mm. Head white. Antenna purplish, scape white. Palpus moderate, dilated,
pale fuscous, top white. Thorax pale grey-fuscous. Abdomen dark, slaty-grey.
Fore wing oblong, moderately dilated, costa slightly curved at base, straight in middle, gently
curved towards apex, apex rather pointed, triangular, termen sinuate above, rounded below, little
oblique. Glossy silver-white, finely marbled with pale grey-ochreous, markings blackish and fuscous-
grey. Basai patch formed by dark grey and black marbling, on costa reaching to before 1/3, on
dorsum to about 2/5, edge well defined, in fold with a strong projection concave above and below
this, interrupted at 1/4; patch including a white triangle on dorsum beyond base, centred with a
black point : above indistinctly continued as a whitish fascia, angulate in middle reaching to below
costa ; a black irregular patch on dorsum just before base with black marbling above it ; costa along
basai patch with small marginal dark dots, a quadrate blackish spot just beyond middle connected
with a second, more oblong one, below and beyond it; costa beyond patch black, with a pair of
smaller and three broader and obtuse pairs of costal white strigulae, a single one in apex; a streak
of ochreous-grey suffusion below posterior half of costa and a large patch before termen above tor-
nus; a black apical spot, another larger, preapical, and a third, largest, subtriangular, on dorsum
before tornus ; a longitudinal streak of darker grey marbling along middle of disc posteriorly, tur-
ning coarser black beyond cell and Connecting dorsal and preapical black spots ; some transverse
grey striation and fine black scales obscuring these markings, except roundish large but dull ocel-
loid spot, edged with silvery. Cilia black, whitish on tornus (imperfect).
Hind wing glossy pale orangeish-ochreous, apical third and a marginal streak attenuated down-
wards, suffused with bronze-purple, dorsum narrowly blackish. Cilia grey-purple with a narrow
pale basai line, cilia paler grey in tornus and along dorsum.
A paratype similar to the allotype, but the grey marbling reduced, together with the dark
markings.
47
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest