Tinoliinae

Joshi, Rahul, Zahiri, Reza, Banerjee, Diya & Singh, Navneet, 2025, A catalogue of the Erebidae of India (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea), Zootaxa 5635 (1), pp. 1-247 : 13

13. Tinoliinae

Tinoliinae was treated as a tribe by Holloway (2005), Lafontaine & Fibiger (2006), however was classified as subfamily by Holloway (2011) and Zahiri et al. (2012).

Adult characters. In Tinoliinae , the saccular section of the valva extends into a digitiform projection, with a lobe located on the posterior edge of the tegumen on both sides, along with the presence of a structure indicative of a paratergal sclerite.

Larval characters. The head and body exhibit a matte black coloration, accented by yellow bands at the segment junctions, and do not possess modified setae. Prolegs are not present on segments A3 and A4. There may be red markings on the head and other areas. The larvae adopt a looped posture while feeding on the undersides of young leaves, but they typically rest on dead leaves or twigs, with the anterior portion of their bodies held upright, creating a sigmoid shape. When disturbed, they drop to the ground, curl into a ball, and simulate death.

Diversity and distribution. About 40 species in four genera: Calesia Guenée , in Boisduval & Guenée, 1852; Tinolius Walker, 1855 ; Poeta Walker, 1865 ; Tamsia Roepke, 1938 are distributed mainly in Oriental and Ethiopian regions. In India , 14 species in four genera are reported.