Psalis Hübner, [1823]

László, Gyula M. & Powell, Bethany, 2024, Review of the Afrotropical Psalis Hübner, [1823] with descriptions of two new species and notes on Asiatic taxa (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Lymantriinae, Orgyiini), Ecologica Montenegrina 77, pp. 77-96 : 79-80

Genus Psalis Hübner, [1823]

Psalis Hübner, [1823] , Zuträge zur Sammlung exotischer Schmettlinge, bestehend in Bekundigung einzelner Fliegmuster neuer oder rarer nichteuropäischer Gattungen 2: 19, figs 291, 292. Type species: Psalis securis Hübner, [1823] by monotypy.

Characterisation of the genus.

Psalis is an old-world genus widely distributed in the tropical-subtropical regions of Asia, Australia and Africa with highly similar species throughout its range. The species of the genus have a largely characteristic external habitus expressed by the well-developed feathery antennae possessing long rami in males and shorter ones in females, the narrow, elongate forewing with fawn to dark brown ground colour patterned by a dark longitudinal area running medially along the whole length of the forewing and the broad, rounded, pale hindwing lacking any markings. The sexual dimorphism is moderately prominent, the females are ca. 20% larger than the males with more elongate, apically produced, pointed forewings. The male genitalia are characterised by the short, stout bifid uncus, the short, rounded, earlike socii, the relatively short triangular tegumen, the deeply cleft valva with a narrow digitiform, strongly sclerotized dorsal (costal) process and a wider, elongate-triangular membranous and slightly setose valvula and the weakly sclerotized sacculus possessing a short, oblique crest. The juxta is unmodified, ring-like, consisting of a pair of narrow, curved, distally pointed plates; the vinculum is short and rounded. The phallus is very short, moderately thick, medially curved without carinal process; the vesica is short, largely inflated, possessing a very small cornuti field consisting of ca. 4–6 tiny triangular cornuti. The female genitalia are characterised by the short, wide, rounded papillae anales, the well-developed, rounded pseudopapillae, the short and broad ovipositor, the conspicuously long posterior apophyses and the very short, weakly sclerotized ribbon-like 8 th tergite. The ostium bursae is characteristically wide with heavily sclerotized margin, the shape of which is an important specific character, the distal end of the ductus bursae forms a short but broad, heavily sclerotized, goblet-shaped antrum, the proximal section of the ductus bursae is relatively thick and membranous, the cervix bursae is unmodified, the corpus bursae is large ovoid bearing heavily sclerotized, variably dilated dash-like transverse signum bursae.

Overview of Asian taxa