Syntomoides imaon

Handmaiden moth
Syntomoides imaon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Arctiidae
Genus:	Syntomoides
Species:	S. imaon
Binomial name
Syntomoides imaon (Cramer, 1780)
Synonyms
Sphinx imaon Cramer, [1779] Syntomis godarti Boisduval, 1829 Syntomis fusiformis Walker, 1856 Syntomis approximata Walker, [1865] Syntomis libera Walker, [1865] Syntomis fytchei Moore, 1871 Syntomis cupreipennis Butler, 1876 Syntomis artina Butler, 1876 Syntomis sargania Butler, 1879 Syntomis mota Swinhoe, 1891 Ceryx godarti Ceryx imaon

Syntomoides imaon, known as Handmaiden moth, is a moth of family Arctiidae, subfamily Ctenuchinae. The systematics of the subfamily is under revision.

Description

The moth has a wingspan of 34 mm. The frons and collar are yellow with the metathorax having a yellow streak. The first abdominal segment has a yellow band which is sometimes obsolescent. The fore wing has large hyaline patches, one filling the cell, another filling nearly the whole interno-median inter-space, one at junction of veins 2 and 3, two subapical, and two submarginal. In the form S. i. sargania, there is a long streak between veins 5 and 6. In others it is reduced to a spot or may be lacking entirely. The hind wing has a postbasal hyaline patch extending hardly (or not at all) beyond the cell. The tips of the antennae and proximal joints of the tarsi are white. The spots of the fore wing vary considerably in size. The male individual is slender and long abdomen than female.

Distribution

Sikkim, Khasi hills and throughout India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Hong Kong.

References

• Hampson, G. F. 1892. Fauna of British India. Moths. Volume 1. Taylor and Francis. London.