Dargida hieroglyphera (Maassen, 1890)

Maassen, J. P. & Weymer, G. (1890). Lepidopteren gesammelt auf einer Reise durch
Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Brasilien, Argentinien und Bolivien in den Jahren
1868-1877 von Alphons Stübel. Berlin (A. Asher): p. 137 (Abth. II B, no. 82;
listed p. 49, no. 16), pl. 5, fig. 17. Described in the genus Moma. Translated
from the German original.

Moma Hieroglyphera Mssn. Pl. V fig. 17. Cf. above p. 49 no. 16.

Length of the body 15 mm, of a fore wing 15 mm.

The head is black, spotted white, the thorax likewise black, edged white in
front, behind and at the sides, the abdomen and the breast grey, the legs dark
grey and spotted white.

The fore wings are black with many light greenish white, irregularly shaped
spots, the round stigma is white and has a dark dot in the middle, the likewise
white reniform stigma on the other hand a dark S-shaped line. The whole outer
margin is greenish white with black and white chequered fringes.

The hind wings are white, grey at the costal margin, which colour also extends
along the outer margin, likewise the ends of the veins are grey.

Beneath the fore wings are blackish grey, with black and white chequered
fringes. The hind wings are as above.

2 specimens. Antisana (Ecuador). 4000 m.

Hampson, G. F. (1905). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British
Museum, vol. 5: p. 604 (Addenda and Corrigenda, to p. 147). As Polia
hieroglyphera.

Page 147. *1325 h. Polia hieroglyphera.
Moma hieroglyphera, Mssn. Stübel's Reise, p. 137, pl. 5. f. 17 (1890).

Head and thorax bluish grey; tegulae with fuscous tips; patagia and thorax with
fuscous patches; abdomen grey suffused with fuscous. Fore wing grey-white; a
small black spot at base and subbasal spots on costa and inner margin; an
antemedial triangular patch on costa and another below the cell; claviform
represented by a triangular black patch with oblique mark below it on inner
margin; orbicular and reniform only defined by a black spot before them in cell,
a triangular patch between them emitting two arms to costa and a triangular
patch beyond them; postmedial line only represented by a striga from costa, a
triangular patch before it below the cell, and a conical patch on inner margin;
a V-shaped black mark on costa before apex with a black spot between its arms;
an oblique subterminal black mark at middle and an oblong patch above tornus;
cilia chequered black and white. Hind wing white, the apical area fuscous,
narrowing to a point at vein 1. Underside of fore wing fuscous with some whitish
on disk; hind wing white, with the costal and apical areas fuscous.

Hab. Ecuador, Antisana, 12,000'. Exp. 36 millim. This species is unknown to me;
structural characters examined by Prof. Karsch.

Draudt, M. (1924). Polia. In: Seitz, A. (ed.), The Macrolepidoptera of the
World, vol. 7, The American Noctuiformes: p. 107, pl. 16 g (German edition: Die
Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 7: 107). As Polia hieroglyphera.

P. hieroglyphera Mssn. (16 g) is on its greenish greyish-white ground covered
with many mostly triangular black spots which almost correspond to the scheme of
markings of the preceding species and are well recognizable from the figure; the
maculae are below confluent. Hindwing of a purer white, only near the apex more
intensely smoked. Ecuador and Colombia.

"The preceding species" is P. ganeo, itself described by comparison with P.
leucoceps; both paragraphs (same page):

P. leucoceps Hmps. is likewise similar to gumia (16 f), but the ground is not
greenish-white, but light brownish-grey, with a purple reflection, the markings
otherwise very similar, but the maculae smaller, the hook-shaped spot behind the
coniform macula more quadrangular, below produced towards the base; the marginal
area is more whitish-grey, with minute darker clouds. Hindwing whitish with a
broad brownish-grey marginal part. Peru. It is questionable whether this
species, having been described as Hadena, does not coincide with albomarginata
Drc.

P. ganeo sp. nov. (16 f) likewise resembles the preceding, it is somewhat
smaller, of a dark purple grey ground-colour, much more intensely marked black;
in the proximal-marginal half and postmedianly shaded with chocolate brownish,
very similarly marked as leucoceps, the maculae much smaller, separated, i. e.
the reniform macula is not proximally produced, but it terminates obliquely
downwards into a greenish-white stripe bifurcating at the margin in two points
and being before shaded by the brown postmedian tint; in the centre of the
margin and above the anal angle there is one rather large black spot each with
two small white spots in each of them, the anal ones representing two convergent
streaks; between them there are black marginal triangles before the distinctly
black-speckled fringes. Hindwing whitish, on the margin and veins smoky. From
Bolivia (Cuesta de Cillutincara), taken by Fassl.