Simplicia simplicissima Wileman & West, 1930

Raha, Angshuman, Sanyal, Abesh Kumar & Singh, Navneet, 2025, On the taxonomy of genus Simplicia Guenée, with a new species from India (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Herminiinae), Zootaxa 5631 (3), pp. 451-474 : 466-470

Simplicia simplicissima Wileman & West, 1930

( Figs. 28–29, 56–57)

Simplicia simplicissima Wileman & West, 1930 , Entomologist, 63 (801): 37. (TL: Kanshirei, Formosa [ Taiwan])

Material examined: India, Andhra Pradesh, Vishakhapatnam Dist.: 1♂, Araku Valley (18º16'34.6"N, 82º59'21.8"E, Alt. 1161 m), 05.x.2021, S.K. Shah leg.

Diagnosis: Forewing length: ♂ 16 mm. Like several of the Simplicia species, S. simplicissima has the indistinguishable overall brownish external appearance with dark brown wing maculation ( Figs. 28, 29). The middle part of the base of forewing, in S. simplicissima , has a horizontal notch covered with scales which initially diagnoses the species from its close allies ( Wileman & West 1930). This species is very similar to S. concisalis and externally can be differentiated by only a few characters. Simplicia simplicissima is darker having slightly broader forewing with straight sub-marginal line, sinuous and outwardly oblique ante-medial line, and distinctly lunular discal spot. Whereas, in S. concisalis , the sub-marginal line is also straight, but with a minute inward depression on the vein M2, the ante-medial line is straighter and distinctly crenulate, and the discal spot is somewhat round ( Figs. 9, 10). In male genitalia, S. simplicissima ( Figs. 56, 57) differs clearly by distinctly longer uncus, longer valva, smaller and v-shaped vinculum, and somewhat straighter aedeagus with vesica having a smaller basal patch of minute spines and larger, coarser spines on the distal diverticulum. Moreover, the aedeagus vesica in S. concisalis ( Figs. 39, 40) has an additional small patch of minute tuberose signa at the extreme basal region and the spines on distal diverticulum are spread further down it to some extent.

Distribution: India: Andhra Pradesh (present study). Global: China, Taiwan ( Wileman & West 1930; Zhao et al. 2019),

Remark: Here, we report this species for the first time from India and extend its distribution further downwards to lower latitudes.