Ratardinae
Encyclopedia
The Ratardinae is a small subfamily of large moth
s from Southeast Asia
.
s formerly placed in its own family Ratardidae and related to (and often included within) Cossidae
. There are three genera, one quite recently described (Kobes and Ronkay, 1990). One species, "Shisa" excellens was originally placed in Lymantriidae
(Owada, 1993; Holloway, 1998: 9). The moths are large with rounded wings and strongly spotted wing patterns, and "pectinate" antennae
. The relationships of this group to other Cossoidea
needs reassessment, once suitable samples are available, with molecular datahttp://www.leptree.net/statusmatrix/showall.php.
, occurring in Borneo
, Sumatra
, Peninsular Malaysia
, northeastern Himalayas
and Taiwan
(Holloway, 1986: 41-42; Heppner and Wang, 1987; Heynderycx, 2003).
National Park on Borneo
where it was found once (Holloway, 1986) .
Ratarda flavimargo Hering, 1925http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mothsofborneo.com/part-1/images/plate4/11.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mothsofborneo.com/part-1/ratardidae/ratardidae.php&h=119&w=201&sz=17&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=elOSfcoRk9my5M:&tbnh=62&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRatarda%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
Ratarda formosana Matsumura, 1921
Ratarda furvivestita Hampson
Ratarda guttifera Hering, 1925
Ratarda javanica Roepke, 1937
Ratarda marmorata Moore, 1879
Ratarda melanoxantha Hering, 1925
Ratarda mora Hering, 1925
Ratarda tertia Strand, 1916
Ratarda monstrosa Strand, 1916
Ratarida excellens (Strand, 1917) (originally in Shisa)
Sumatratarda diehlii Kobes and Ronkay, 1990.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s from Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
Taxonomy and systematics
Ratardinae is a small subfamily of mothMoth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s formerly placed in its own family Ratardidae and related to (and often included within) Cossidae
Cossidae
Cossidae, the cossid millers or carpenter millers, make up a family of mostly large miller moths. Ths family contains over 110 genera with almost 700 known species, and many more species await description...
. There are three genera, one quite recently described (Kobes and Ronkay, 1990). One species, "Shisa" excellens was originally placed in Lymantriidae
Lymantriidae
Lymantriidae is a family of moths. Many of its component species are referred to as "Tussock moths" of one sort or another. The caterpillar, or larval, stage of these species often has a distinctive appearance of alternating bristles and haired projections...
(Owada, 1993; Holloway, 1998: 9). The moths are large with rounded wings and strongly spotted wing patterns, and "pectinate" antennae
Antenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
. The relationships of this group to other Cossoidea
Cossoidea
Cossoidea is the superfamily of moths that includes carpenter moths and relatives. Like their likely sister group Sesioidea they are internal feeders and have spiny pupae with moveable segments to allow them to extrude out of their exit holes in stems and trunks during emergence of the adult .The...
needs reassessment, once suitable samples are available, with molecular datahttp://www.leptree.net/statusmatrix/showall.php.
Distribution
There are about thirteen, relictually distributed species restricted to Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, occurring in Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
, northeastern Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
(Holloway, 1986: 41-42; Heppner and Wang, 1987; Heynderycx, 2003).
Behaviour
The adults are very rarely found, feeble- flying and occasionally are attracted to light but more likely to be found flying by day (Holloway, 1986: 41-42).Biology
The biology is unknown (Edwards et al. 1999: 193-194) but it has been suggested based on female morphology that like the probably related Metarbelinae they might feed in bark (Holloway et al., 1986: 42).Conservation
These large moths are so incredibly rarely found and their habitats under such massive threat from large-scale conversion of rainforest in South-East Asia that their conservation status should be seriously considered and dedicated surveys conducted to assess their distribution and biology. One species (Ratarda melanoxantha) is probably protected by virtue of its occurrence in Mount KinabaluMount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...
National Park on Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
where it was found once (Holloway, 1986) .
Provisional list of species (based on Lepindex)
Callosiope banghaasi Hering, 1925Ratarda flavimargo Hering, 1925http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mothsofborneo.com/part-1/images/plate4/11.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mothsofborneo.com/part-1/ratardidae/ratardidae.php&h=119&w=201&sz=17&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=elOSfcoRk9my5M:&tbnh=62&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRatarda%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
Ratarda formosana Matsumura, 1921
Ratarda furvivestita Hampson
Ratarda guttifera Hering, 1925
Ratarda javanica Roepke, 1937
Ratarda marmorata Moore, 1879
Ratarda melanoxantha Hering, 1925
Ratarda mora Hering, 1925
Ratarda tertia Strand, 1916
Ratarda monstrosa Strand, 1916
Ratarida excellens (Strand, 1917) (originally in Shisa)
Sumatratarda diehlii Kobes and Ronkay, 1990.