Plutodes Guenée, 1858

Singh, Manpreet, Raha, Angshuman, Mallick, Kaushik, Kirti, Jagbir Singh & Singh, Navneet, 2023, A review of the genus Plutodes Guenée (Geometridae: Ennominae) from India with description of one new species, Zootaxa 5323 (4), pp. 499-523 : 520-521

Identification key to the Indian species of Plutodes Guenée, 1858

1. Hindwing with rufous-brown patches almost covering the whole area, leaving just a small area of the yellow background at the apex................................................................................................ 2

- Hindwing with rufous-brown patches much reduced exposing larger area of the yellow background.................... 3

2. Underside of both wings with distinct submarginal black patches....................................... P. costatus

- Underside of both wings uniformly pale rufous-brown with faint submarginal black patch on forewing.......... P. warreni

3. Hindwing with the distal patch much reduced to a small diffused patch with two dark brown spots.............. P. lamisca

- Hindwing with well-developed distal patch................................................................. 4

4. Forewing with basal patch joined to the distal patch................................................. P. nilgirica

- Forewing with basal and distal patches separate............................................................. 5

5. Forewing distal patch extended below into a distinct narrow stalk to meet the inner margin................ P. subcaudata

- Forewing with distal patch not extended into a prominent stalk................................................. 6

6. Hindwing with distal patch elliptical or oval................................................................ 7

- Hindwing with distal patch more or less kidney- shaped...................................................... 12

7. Hindwing with a dark spot below the distal elliptical patch near the anal angle............................ P. exquisita

- Hindwing distal patch oval, without any dark spot........................................................... 8

8. Distal patches on both wings crossed by a distinct, highly dentate, rufous line with a hue of yellowish background.................................................................................................. P. flavescens

- Distal patches on both wings crossed by an irregular rufous line (less/ not dentate), without yellowish background........ 9

9. Forewing distal patch crossed by non-dentate, slightly curved rufous line, which is conspicuously angled outwardly at middle.......................................................................................... P. philornis

- Forewing distal patch crossed by an irregular rufous line without medial angle as in P. philornis ...................... 10

10. Hindwing basal patch with curved outer border................................................ P. pseudocyclaria

- Hindwing basal patch with straight outer border............................................................ 11

11. Distal patch on hindwing large and barely separate from basal patch..................................... P. cyclaria

- Distal patches on hindwing smaller and always separate.............................................. P. discigera

12. Forewing distal patch amoeboid and irregularly bordered on all sides, hindwing distal patch without any projection at anal angle.................................................................................... P. transmutata

- Forewing distal patch quadrate with straight border at the inner side, hindwing distal patch with an acute projection at anal angle............................................................................. P. quadratus sp. nov.