Published October 25, 2022 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Heliothelinae Amsel 1961

Description

2.4. Heliothelinae

Diversity and distribution: comprise 29 valid species in three genera globally (Nuss et al. 2003–2022). In India, the subfamily is known by a single species, Heliothela ophideresana (Walker), representing 3.44% of the global Heliothelinae diversity. Heliothelinae are present on all the Old World continents, where they mostly inhabit arid habitats (Nuss 1998, 2005a). In India, the subfamily is distributed in the Himalaya, North East, the Western Ghats, the Deccan Peninsula, and the Coasts.

Adult characters: small, dark-winged diurnal moths with yellow to orange hindwings in many species. In the female genitalia, the corpus bursae exhibit an invaginated spine, and appendix bursae are absent (Nuss 1998, 2005a).

Larval characters: larvae are poorly studied. The body of fully-grown, 8 mm long larvae is alternately lightdark striped, with an almost black head and prothorax (Nuss 2005a).

Food plants: Schütze (1931) found the larva of the related Heliothela wulfeniana Scopoli on Mentha spp. (Lamiaceae), and Jensen (1968) reports the same species (as H. atralis Hübner) from cultivated Viola tricolor (Violaceae).

Notes

Published as part of Singh, Navneet, Ranjan, Rahul, Talukdar, Avishek, Joshi, Rahul, Kirti, Jagbir Singh, Chandra, Kailash & Mally, Richard, 2022, A catalogue of Indian Pyraloidea (Lepidoptera), pp. 1-423 in Zootaxa 5197 (1) on pages 32-33, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5197.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7252292

Files

Files (1.6 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:d759d3fc7af802b5751e21ed8cd923e4
1.6 kB Download

System files (11.9 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:5eb19efdbfad6ae7e931cf4a7f049c0e
11.9 kB Download

Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

References

  • Nuss, M. (1998) The Scopariinae and Heliothelinae stat. rev. (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea, Crambidae) of the Oriental Region - a revisional synopsis with descriptions of new species from the Philippines and Sumatra. Nachrichten des entomologischen Vereins Apollo, Supplement 17, 475 - 528.
  • Nuss, M. (2005 a) Heliothelinae. In: Goater, B., Nuss, M. & Speidel, W. (Eds.), Pyraloidea I. In: Huemer, P. & Karsholt, O. (Eds.), Microlepidoptera of Europe 4. Apollo Books, Stenstrup, pp. 109 - 111 + 182 + 223 + 257.
  • Schutze, K. T. (1931) Die Biologie der Kleinschmetterlinge unter besonderer Berucksichtigung ihrer Nahrpflanzen und Erscheinungszeiten. Handbuch der Microlepidopteren. Raupenkalender - geordnet nach der Illustrierten deutschen Flora von H. Wagner. Verlag des Internationalen Entomologischen Vereins e. V., Frankfurt am Main, 235 pp.
  • Jensen, H. K. (1968) En klaekning af Heliothela atralis Hb. (Lep., Pyralidae). Entomologiske Meddelelser, 36, 341 - 342.