Comostola meritaria (Walker, 1861) -

Taxonomic Information

Similiar species:

Separating C. laesariameritaria and subtiliaria vide Moths of Borneo and Han & Xue, Fauna Sinica and personal notes of SS. These species are best separated by dissection of genitalia. 
 

Separating C. laesariameritaria and subtiliaria vide Moths of Borneo and Han & Xue, Fauna Sinica. 

laesaria: smallest in size (FWL~6-9 mm), postmedials strongly red, two prominent red spots on dorsum. Wings pale blue; hind tibia of male dilated, with hair-pencil. Throughout India distribution. 

meritaria: intermediate size (FWL ~ 8-10 mm). the postmedials are more irregular in size as in laesaria, but the white component predominates, rather than the red. Wings bluish green; hind tibia of male undilated, without hair-pencil. Possibly peninsular Indian distribution (?).

subtiliaria: largest species (FWL ~ >11 mm), postmedials , large and largely with white elements, distal margin (termen) of forewing is straighter than in other species, hindwing discal spot is more regular, square or rhomboidal rather than shaped like an 'N' or 'M'. Wings pale blue; hind wing with the dot on CuA of the postmedial line closer to discal spot than to outer margin. Himalayan species. 

 

Comostola Meyrick, 1888 species known from the Indian subcontinent. 

Comostola caerulea Warren, 1893. Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh.

Comostola cedilla Prout, 1917. Andaman Is. 

Comostola chlorargyra (Walker, 1861). India sub-region.

Comostola dispansa (Walker, 1861). Sri Lanka. 

Comostola dyakaria (Walker, 1861). Khasi Hills, Meghalaya.

Comostola hauensteini Smetacek, 2004. Uttarakhand (TL: Bhimtal), Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal. 

Comostola hypotyphla Prout, 1917. Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh. 

Comostola inops Prout, 1912. Kashmir: Lidda Valley, Lidderwat, 6700ft, Arunachal Pradesh.

Comostola laesaria (Walker, 1861). India; Sri Lanka (TL). 
Comostola leucosticta Yazaki, 1993. India: Arunachal Pradesh; Nepal (TL). 

Comostola maculata (Moore, 1868). West Bengal.

Comostola meritaria (Walker, 1861). India; Sri Lanka (TL).

Comostola multimaculata (Pajni & Walia, 1984). Himachal Pradesh, Nauni. 

Comostola mundata Warren, 1896. Khasi Hills, Meghalaya.

Comostola ovifera (Warren, 1893). India: Sikkim; Tibet. 

Comostola pyrrhogona (Walker, 1866). South India.

Comostola quantula (Swinhoe, 1886), Mumbai, Maharashtra. 

Comostola subtiliaria (Bremer, 1864). Himalayas. 

Comostola subtiliaria demeritaria Prout, 1917. Khasi Hills, Meghalaya.

Comostola turgescens (Prout, 1917). Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh.

Comostola virago Prout, 1926. Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. 

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa1
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka1
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra1
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total111
  1. OD: Geometra meritaria Walker, 1861. List Specimens lepid. Insects Colln. Br. Mus., 22: 522. TL: Sri Lanka. Text at https://archive.org/details/listofspecimenso2224brit/page/522/mode/1up?view=theater
  2. Holloway, J. D. 1996. The moths of Borneo (part 9); Family Geometridae: Subfamilies Oenochrominae, Desmobathrinae, Geometrinae. Malayan Nature Journal 49: 147-326.Pl. 11/21. 
  3. https://www.mothsofborneo.com/part-9/geometrini/geometrini_48_3.php
Note (From Moths of Borneo):The size is intermediate between that of laesaria and orestias. The postmedials are more irregular in size as in laesaria, but the white component predominates, rather than the red. Geographical range. Sri Lanka,S. India,  Taiwan, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi. Best separated from other congeners by genitalia. 
 
 

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Comostola meritaria (Walker, 1861) – . In Sondhi, S., Y. Sondhi, R.P. Singh, P. Roy and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 3.73. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://moths.ncbs.res.in/comostola-meritaria, accessed 2024/04/19.