Dordura aliena Walker, 1865)
 (one synonym: Hypaetra tincta Hampson, 1893)
CATOCALINI,   EREBINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


female
(Photo: courtesy of David Fisher, Fraser's Hill, Malaysia)

The adult moth of this species has grey-brown wings with a purple sheen, with variable markings, including a pale medial band, and a dark triangle near the tip of each forewing.


male
(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

The males are paler, have a less distinct pattern than the females, and have slightly recurved margins near the wingtips. The wingspan is about 3 cms.


female, drawing by George F. Hampson, listed as Dysgonia tincta,
Illustrations of typical specimens of Lepidoptera Heterocera in the British Museum,
The Macrolepidoptera Heterocera of Ceylon, Part 9 (1893), Plate CLXV, fig. 3,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.

The species has been found across south-east Asia, including

  • Borneo,
  • India,
  • Malaysia,

    and in Australia in

  • Queensland.


    drawing by Frederic Moore, listed as Dordura apicalis    ,
    Descriptions of new Indian Lepidopterous Insects from the collection of the late Mr. W.S. Atkinson,
    Part 2 (1882), Plate V, fig. 20,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library

    Further reading :

    George Francis Hampson,
    The Macrolepidoptera Heterocera of Ceylon,
    Illustrations of typical specimens of Lepidoptera Heterocera in the British Museum,
    Part 9 (1893), p. 112, and also Plate 165, fig. 3.

    Frederic Moore,
    Descriptions of new Indian Lepidopterous Insects from the collection of the late Mr. W.S. Atkinson,
    Asiatic Society of Bengal,
    Part 1 (1882), p. 170, and also Part 2 (1882), plate 5, fig. 20.

    Francis Walker,
    Catalogue of Lepidoptera Heterocera,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 33, Supplement part 3 (1865), p. 964.

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    (written 7 April 2015, updated 12 September 2024)