''Trilocha varians'', the Greenish silk-moth is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

in the family

Bombycidae The Bombycidae are a family of moths known as silkworm moths. The best-known species is ''Bombyx mori'' (Linnaeus), or domestic silk moth, native to northern China and domesticated for millennia. Another well-known species is '' Bombyx mandarina' ...

described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is widespread in the Oriental region from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, extending to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

and

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 25–27 mm. There are two colour varieties in the species; ''albicollis'' is the greyish form and ''varians'' is the reddish form. Head, thorax and abdomen of males are pale or dark reddish brown. Forewings are pale reddish brown or greyish, with two antemedial curved waved lines. There is a dark patch on the outer margin below the apex. The costal edge is paler with cilia being dark reddish brown. Hindwings are pale or dark reddish brown or with greyish with outer reddish brown area. The postmedial line is indistinct. Ventral surface is paler with some dark red stripes. Larvae are elongated and brown with dark dots and a lateral row of black spots. There is a slight protuberance on each of the thoracic and 5th, 8th somites. A long slender horn can be seen on anal somite. The larvae feed on ''

Streblus ''Streblus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Morus (plant), mulberry family, Moraceae. It includes five species native to the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, and Malesia. Species Five species are currently accepted. *''Str ...

'' and ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

'' species. A silken cocoon is oval and pale.Immature Stages of Four Bombycidae Species of Taiwan

Subspecies

*''Trilocha varians varians'' *''Trilocha varians lineata'' Dierl, 1978 (Philippines)

References

Moths described in 1855 Bombycidae Moths of Japan {{Bombycidae-stub