Archiearinae, D.S.Fletcher, 1953

Young, Catherine J., 2006, Descriptions of the eggs of some southern Australian Geometridae (Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 1287, pp. 1-294 : 1-294

Comment on Archiearinae

The Tasmanian Archiearinae described here are a homogeneous group based on egg characters. Eggs are moderately broad and bluntly ovoid with some inclination of the anterior pole to the micropylar axis. Cell form is not well defined apart from the micropylar cells that have distinct, narrow and shallowly reticulated walls. The aeropyles tend to be small and inconspicuous with extremely small openings in Dirce whereas in Acalyphes they are somewhat more apparent, slightly elevated and have small to moderately small openings. In Dirce the chorion is generally smooth and undulating, apart from Dirce sp. where the chorion is rough, wrinkled and cobbled (Fig. 34) as in Acalyphes sp. (Fig. 15).

Few detailed descriptions have been made of the eggs of the northern hemisphere fauna. However Gibson and Criddle (1916) published a remarkably detailed description for its time, of the eggs of the Nearctic species Leucobrephos brephoides Walker. The eggs of L. brephoides are laid flat, usually singly but sometimes in groups of two or three, on or above leaf scars, adjacent to young shoots or near tips of terminal branches. The colour of the ovum is pinkish ochre when fresh and becomes grey on maturity. The shape is bluntly ovoid, size, a relatively large, 0.5 x 0.9 mm and the chorion is faintly marked with longitudinal striations. Incubation takes 12–16 days and the maximum fecundity of females was 135 eggs over 6 days in captivity. Females usually deposit several eggs on one tree ( Gibson & Criddle 1916). The eggs of Archiearis notha Hübner were described briefly as, ellipsoid with a flattened base, prominently ribbed and glistening, and illustrated in colour in Stokoe and Stovin (1948). The eggs of this species are of the upright variety. Döring (1955) illustrated A. parthenias Linnaeus and A. puella Esper with line drawings. These eggs appear to have a very highly sculptured chorion with deep ridges on all surfaces of the egg. The egg of A. parthenias is sub­quadrate with both poles of equal diameter whereas that of A. puella is bluntly ovoid with the anterior pole wider than the posterior. No mention is made in this literature as to the orientation of the eggs to the substrate. Syme (1961) illustrated the egg of A. infans Moeschler as bluntly ovoid with a truncated anterior pole. The eggs of this species are laid flat in groups of 1–3 at the bases of buds or on twigs. It is difficult to compare the eggs of the Australian Archiearinae with those of Archiearis Hübner because of the limited nature of these descriptions. Nevertheless the Holarctic species appear to be relatively more heterogeneous with regard to egg characters, particularly orientation.