Mulona lapidaria is a species of moth in the family Erebidae (subfamily Arctiinae, tribe Lithosiini). It was first described by the British entomologist Francis Walker in 1866.
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Francis Walker in List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum, volume 35 (supplement part 5), page 1,896, published in 1866. It is the type species of the genus Mulona, which was established in the same publication (monobasic). The genus Mulona belongs to the tribe Lithosiini (footman moths) within the subfamily Arctiinae of the family Erebidae.
Description
Based on the revision by William D. Field (1952), the male forewing length is approximately 9 mm. The head and thorax are white tinged with pale brown. The forewing is white, irrorated (sprinkled) with brown, with a marginal row of small dark spots. A row of four small dark-brown spots crossing the wing just before the middle are faintly connected, forming a zigzag line. There is a faint black submarginal streak in the lower half of the wing nearly parallel to the outer margin, and a similar streak starting from the costa just before the middle of the wing. A minute pale yellow spot is present in the middle of the cell near the outer end. The hindwing is white, with the outer margin and apex tinged with brown. The female has not been described (unknown as of 1952).
Distribution
The species is recorded from the island of Hispaniola. The type locality is given as "St. Domingo" (Santo Domingo), which corresponds to the present-day Dominican Republic. Some sources also list Haiti as part of its range.
References
- Walker, F. (1866). List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. 35: 1896.
- Hampson, G.F. (1900). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British Museum. 2: 387.
- Field, W.D. (1952). "Moths of the genera Mulona Walker and Lomuna, a new and closely related genus (Arctiidae: Lithosiinae)". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 102 (3298): 221–230.
