''Erygia spissa'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

first described by

Achille Guenée Achille Guenée (sometimes M.A. Guenée; 1 January 1809 – 30 December 1880) was a French lawyer and entomologist. Biography Achille Guenée was born in Chartres and died in Châteaudun. He was educated in Chartres, where he showed a very e ...

in 1852. It is found from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, where it is found in lowland habitats, including heath forests and coastal forests.

Description

Its wingspan is about 42–50 mm. Palpi with longer third joint. Hindlegs of male tufted with long hair to the extremity of the tarsi. Mid tibia of male absent masses of flocculent hair contained in a fold. Body greyish brown. Forewings with numerous indistinct waved lines. A dentate antemedial waved line on vein 2 and with a diffused reddish brown band inside it. A dark line on discocellulars with an ill-defined brownish patch on the costa found above it. A post-medial waved line excurved beyond the cell and a triangular patch on costa before apex. Hindwings wit ochreous basal area and fuscous outer area. A pale streak is found at the anal angle. Cilia pale at apex and anal angle. Larva pale brownish with irregular dark brown longitudinal stripes and black transverse mark. Setae are found on small tubercles. Pupa lacks a bloom. The larvae feed on ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'' and ''

Xylia ''Xylia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Mainland Southeast Asia. Species ''Xylia'' includes nine accepted species: * '' Xylia africana'' Harms * '' Xylia evansii'' Hut ...

'' species, as well as ''Paraserianthes falcataria'' (= ''

Falcataria moluccana ''Falcataria falcata'' (syns. ''Albizia falcata'', ''Falcataria moluccana'' and ''Paraserianthes falcataria''), commonly known as the Moluccan albizia, is a species of fast-growing tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to the Maluku Islands, ...

'').

References

Moths described in 1852 Erygia Moths of Asia Moths of New Guinea {{Erebinae-stub