''Macaldenia palumba'' is a
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
of the family
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...
first described by
Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found from the Oriental region of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
) and
Sundaland
Sundaland (also called Sundaica or the Sundaic region) is a biogeographical region of South-eastern Asia corresponding to a larger landmass that was exposed throughout the last 2.6 million years during periods when sea levels were lower. It ...
, east to
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
. It is also found on
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
in
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
.
Description
Its wingspan is about 38–52 mm. It is generally brownish grey. Forewings slightly suffused with purple and sprinkled with black. Indistinct waved sub-basal and antemedial line present. There is a small fuscous obsolete reniform spot and postmedial line angled below costa. This postmedial line then indistinct and crenulate with a series of black specks on the nervules. A slightly sinuous indistinct or prominent brown sub-marginal line. An almost marginal minute speck series can be seen. Cilia and margin have some grey color. Hindwings with indistinct line and some fuscous postmedial suffusion and a series of small white lunules found with ferrous suffusion beyond them towards inner margin. Some grey on margin and cilia and fuscous marks can be seen towards anal angle.
Larva with first pair of abdominal prolegs aborted and two dorsal humps found on anal somite. Body brownish ochreous above and olive beneath. Some dorsal and lateral black speckled streaks present. A sub-lateral whitish line found with some pinkish spots above it.
The larvae feed on ''
Atalantia
''Atalantia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, the Rutaceae.Swingle, W. T., rev. P. C. ReeceChapter 3: The Botany of ''Citrus'' and its Wild Relatives.In: ''The Citrus Industry'' vol. 1. Webber, H. J. (ed.). Berkeley: Universit ...
'' and ''
Paramignya''. Larvae have been reared on ''
Citrofortunella
Citrofortunella are a large group of commercial hybrids that cross the kumquat with other citrus. In the system of citrus taxonomy established by Swingle, kumquats were placed in a different genus, '' Fortunella'', from ''Citrus'', which included ...
'', but it is unknown if they feed on this plant in the wild.
References
Catocalinae
Moths of Asia
Moths of Japan
{{Catocalinae-stub