Lemyra (Thyrgorina) khasiana Thomas, 1990: 42

Singh, Harsimranjeet, Raha, Angshuman, Kirti, Jagbir Singh & Singh, Navneet, 2024, Taxonomic review of the genus Lemyra Walker (Erebidae: Arctiinae) from India, Zootaxa 5454 (1), pp. 1-69 : 33

Lemyra (Thyrgorina) khasiana Thomas, 1990: 42

( Figs 85, 86 , 191, 192 )

TL: Khasis [Khasi hills, Meghalaya, India]

Material examined: India, Arunachal Pradesh: [Lower Subansiri district], Ziro , 1 ♂, 28.viii.2005, N. Singh leg. ( NZCZSI; 12846/H10) , Sikkim: [East Sikkim district], Padamchen , 1 ♂, 31.v.2017, K. Mondal & Party leg. ( NZCZSI; 12847/H10) ; Himachal Pradesh: [Chamba district], Saho , 2 ♂, 12.ix.2006, N. Singh leg. ( NZCZSI; 12845/H10) ; West Bengal: [ Darjeeling district ], Singalila NP, Manedara, 1 ♂, 1.xi.2018, A. Sanyal & Party leg. ( NZCZSI; 12844/H10) .

Diagnosis: Forewing length: ♂ 16 mm. Lemyra (T.) khasiana ( Figs 85, 86 ) resembles the species with white wings and yellowish abdomen and is externally similar to an unrelated L. (T.) nigrifrons ( Figs 59, 60 ), but is distinct by its ochreous colour of pectus and abdomen (in L. (T.) nigrifrons , the pectus is black and the abdomen is with considerable black coloration laterally). Other differences between both the species have been discussed under L. (T.) nigrifrons .

Distribution. Indian records: Meghalaya (Khasi Hills) ( Dubatolov 2010, Singh et al. 2021), Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal (present study). Global records: Myanmar (Kambaiti) ( de Freina & Thomas 2015).

Remarks: Strand (1919) named the ‘ab. 1’ aberration of Diacrisia nigrifrons (sensu Hampson 1901) as Diacrisia nigrifrons khasiana which was later raised to a valid species by Thomas (1990). In India, L. (T.) khasiana is so far reported from Khasi hills only. Herein, it is reported to be widely distributed in Indian Himalaya within an altitude range of 1500–2510 m. The species is found to occur in East Himalayan subtropical wet evergreen forest in Arunachal Pradesh, East Himalayan mixed coniferous forest in Sikkim, Himalayan chir pine forest in Himachal Pradesh and East Himalayan wet temperate forest in West Bengal.

Figures

FIGURES 85–94. Habitus of Lemyra spp. 85–86. L. khasiana, male, dorsal and ventral sides (Saho, Himachal Pradesh, India); 87–88. L. excelsa, male, dorsal and ventral sides (Jang, Arunachal Pradesh, India); 89–90. L. obsoleta sp. nov., holotype male, dorsal and ventral sides (Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, India); 91–92. L. pinus sp. nov. holotype male, dorsal and ventral sides (Old Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, India); 93–94. L. sordidescens, male, dorsal and ventral sides (Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh, India).

FIGURES 191–200. Genitalia of Lemyra spp. 191–192. L. khasiana, male: 191, ventral view, 192, Aedeagus; 193–194. L. excelsa, male: 193, ventral view, 194, Aedeagus; 195–196. L. obsoleta sp. nov., holotype male: 195, ventral view, 196, Aedeagus; 197–198. L. pinus sp. nov. holotype male: 197, ventral view, 198, Aedeagus; 199–200. L. sordidescens, male: 199, ventral view, 200, Aedeagus.

FIGURES 53–62. Habitus of Lemyra spp. 53–54. L. fortiorspina sp. nov., holotype male, dorsal and ventral sides (Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, India); 55–56. L. apatani sp. nov., holotype male, dorsal and ventral sides (Old Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, India); 57–58. L. adunca sp. nov., holotype male, dorsal and ventral sides (Rishop, West Bengal, India); 59–60. L. nigrifrons, male, dorsal and ventral sides (Singalila NP, Gairibas, West Bengal, India); 61–62. L. kaikarisi, male, dorsal and ventral sides (Pfutsero, Nagaland, India).