Miltochrista phaeodonta, Hampson, 1911

Volynkin, Anton V. & Černý, Karel, 2019, A review of the Barsine phaeodonta (Hampson, 1911) species-group, with descriptions of four new species from Indochina and India (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae), Ecologica Montenegrina 21, pp. 70-79 : 71

The phaeodonta species-group

Diagnosis. The species-group is related to the prominens species-group, but differs clearly by the absence of a thorn-like distal costal process (present in the prominens species-group) and the presence of bunches of spinules in aedeagus vesica, whereas the prominens species-group is characterized by the presence of broad clusters of very short but robust cornuti. The female genitalia are characterized by the presence of areas of strong dentation in corpus bursae and very small and membranous appendix bursae, whereas members of the prominens species-group have the large appendix bursae and the corpus bursae with dense spinulose scobination.

Morphology. Adults. Small moths with forewing length 9.5–11 mm in males (wingspan 19–20 mm) and 11.5–13.5 mm in females (wingspan 23–24.5). The sexual dimorphism is expressed only in the larger size of females. Head and thorax yellow. Abdomen pale ochreous with admixture of blackish hair-like scales distally. Forewing ground color yellow. Pattern blackish, consists of a subbasal dot, five longitudinal strokes in the subbasal area, curved and slightly wavy antemedial line, almost straight or arcuate medial line, dot-, comma- or dash-shaped discal spot, strongly curved and dentate postmedial line, and a series of small spots on veins in the subterminal area. Cilia ochreous with admixture of brown scales. Hindwing pale ochreous, with intense brownish suffusion in medial and subterminal areas; cilia pale ochreous. Male genitalia. Uncus elongated, narrow, laterally flattened, slightly curved, with pointed claw-shaped tip. Tuba analis broad; scaphium thin, weakly sclerotized; subscaphium broad, weakly setose. Tegumen shorter than valva, moderately broad. Juxta weakly sclerotized, bilobate. Vinculum large, robust, U-shaped. Valva elongated, usually broadened distally. Costa without distal process, only in some species with a small and rounded protrusion. Medial costal process thorn- or hook-shaped. Sacculus moderately broad, weakly setose basally; distal saccular processes large, curved, asymmetrical ( B. mophi and B. arrigera ) or symmetrical ( B. phaeodonta , B. joshii and B. meyi ). Aedeagus elongated, narrow, almost straight, with weakly dentate carinal plate ( B. phaeodonta , B. joshii and B. meyi ) or without it ( B. mophi and B. arrigera ). Vesica with bunches of spinules, narrow, membranous and with elongated diverticula (in B. phaeodonta , B. joshii and B. meyi ) or weakly granulated and with short diverticula (in B. mophi and B. arrigera ). Female genitalia. Ovipositor short and broad. Papillae anales large, rectangular with rounded corners. Apophyses long and thin, of more or less equal length. Ostium bursae broad, with V-shaped sclerotized margin. Ductus bursae dorso-ventrally flattened, sclerotized, short (in B. phaeodonta and B. joshii ) or elongated (in B. arrigera ). Corpus bursae sack-like, with clusters of dentation, in B. arrigera it also bears sclerotized plates and signa. Appendix bursae small, conical, membranous, situated postero-laterally.