Miltochrista undulata Swinhoe (1903) -

Taxonomic Information

Miltochrista dasara Moore, [1860] is extralimital (Bali & Java). 
Miltochrista chromatica (Swinhoe, 1891) (S. India). 
Miltochrista calamaria (Moore, 1888) male and female are similar to female M. dasara. Vide Cerny & Pinratana. 2009, female dasara is larger than calamaria, has pale yellow forewing and slightly greyish suffused abdomen, while the yellow colour is more intense in calamaria and the abdomen is of the same colour. However, Volynkin & Bucsek (2016) state that female dasara and calamaria can only be separated by genitalia.

The female of Miltochrista undulata Swinhoe (1903) is very similar to Parvuspina tawaghatensis Singh, Kirti & Datta, 2019, and can be best separated from it by examining genitalia (Singh et al 2019).

List of Miltochrista Hübner, [1819] 1816 known from India.
Miltochrista adelfika Volynkin, N. Singh, Černý, Kirti & Datta, 2020, India (Assam, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland).
Miltochrista andamana (Moore, 1877), India (Andamans, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim).
Miltochrista arcuata (Moore, 1882), India (Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris), Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Manipuri, Kerala).
Miltochrista artocarpi (Moore, 1878), India (NW Himalayas, Sikkim, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu).
Miltochrista aureata Rothschild, 1913, India (Meghalaya).
Miltochrista berdepsebunda Volynkin, N. Singh, Cerny & Joshi, 2021, India (Northeastern India (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram)).
Miltochrista calamaria (Moore, 1888), India (NW Himalayas, Meghalaya, NE Himalayas, Assam, Punjab, Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris), Bihar).
Miltochrista chromatica (Swinhoe, 1891), India (Tamil Nadu, South India).
Miltochrista conjunctana (Walker, 1866), India (North India, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Tripura).
Miltochrista cornutochrista N. Singh & Kirti, 2016, India (Meghalaya).
Miltochrista dharma dharma (Moore, 1879), India (Indian Himalayas, Bihar, Nagaland).
Miltochrista discisigna (Moore, 1888), India (Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh).
Miltochrista discistriga (Moore, 1878), India (West Bengal).
Miltochrista falcihumilis N. Singh & Kirti, 2016, India (NE India (Mizoram)).
Miltochrista floccosa (Walker, 1864), India (Sikkim, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar).
Miltochrista fulvimarginata (Hampson, 1909), India (Tamil Nadu).
Miltochrista fuscalis (Hampson, 1891), India (Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris)).
Miltochrista goaensis (Kirti & Gill, 2009), India (Goa).
Miltochrista hollowai (Kirti & Gill, 2009), India (Gujarat).
Miltochrista humilis (Walker, 1859), India (NE Himalayas, Sikkim, West Bengal, Punjab, Nagaland, Assam, Tamil Nadu (Nilgiri Hills)).
Miltochrista ila (Moore, [1860]), India (Karnataka, Uttarakhand).
Miltochrista inconspicua (Moore, 1878), India (North India, Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris)).
Miltochrista infumata (Felder, 1874), India (NW Himalayas, Manipuri).
Miltochrista jarawa N. Singh, Volynkin, Kirti & Datta 2020, India (Andaman Islands)
Miltochrista lutara (Moore, [1860]), India.
Miltochrista marginata (Walker, 1864), India (South India).
Miltochrista neocuneifera N. Singh & Kirti, 2016, India (Tamil Nadu).
Miltochrista neoseriata N. Singh & Kirti, 2016, India (Assam, Throughout India).
Miltochrista nubilalis Hampson, 1894, India (Orissa).
Miltochrista obsoleta (Moore, 1878), India (South India, NE India, Meghalaya, Bihar, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Tripura).
Miltochrista paraarcuata N. Singh & Kirti, 2016, India (Karnataka).
Miltochrista paraseriata N. Singh, Kirti & Joshi, 2016, India (Sikkim).
Miltochrista phantasma (Hampson, 1907), India (Andamans).
Miltochrista producta (Černý, 2009), India (NE India).
Miltochrista pseudoarcuata N. Singh & Kirti,2016, India (Karnataka).
Miltochrista pseudomodesta Joshi, N. Singh & Volynkin, 2017, India (NE India (Mizoram, Nagaland)).
Miltochrista pseudoobsoleta N. Singh, 2019, India (Bihar).
Miltochrista pseudoseriata N. Singh & Kirti, 2016, India (NE India, Assam).
Miltochrista punctata (Rothschild, 1913), India (Assam).
Miltochrista quadra Joshi, N. Singh & Volynkin, 2017, India (NE India).
Miltochrista rosalia (Hampson, 1914), India (Western Ghats).
Miltochrista rubricosa (Moore, 1878), India (Indian Himalayas, Meghalaya, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka).
Miltochrista ruptifascia (Hampson, 1893), India (West Bengal).
Miltochrista semifascia (Walker, 1854), India (Throughout South India, Sikkim, Assam); Sri Lanka.
Miltochrista solita (Walker,1854), India; Sri Lanka.
Miltochrista stenovalva Volynkin, N. Singh, Černý, Kirti & Datta, 2020, India (Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram).
Miltochrista strigatula (Rothschild, 1913), India (Meghalaya).
Miltochrista strigipennis (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855), India (Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, Assam).
Miltochrista terminospota N. Singh, Kirti & Joshi, 2015, India (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya).
Miltochrista uncalis (Kirti & Gill, 2009), India (Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu).
Miltochrista undulata (Swinhoe, 1903), India (NW Himalayas, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Assam).
Miltochrista undunoides N. Singh & Kirti, 2016, India (Assam (NE India) NW and NE Himalayas, Meghalaya, Manipur).
Miltochrista uniformeola (Hampson, 1900), India.
Miltochrista violacea (Reich, 1936), India (Punjab).

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh1
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh31
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya1
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand432114211
West Bengal1
Total432525311
  1. OD: Asura undulata Swinhoe, 1903. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7) 11 (65): 501; TL: Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. Text at https://archive.org/details/s7annalsmagazine11londuoft/page/501/mode/1up?view=theater
  2. Volynkin, A.V. & K. Bucsek. 2016. What is Lyclene dasara (Moore, 1859) (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae)? Biological Bulletin of Bogdan Chmelnitskiy Melitopol State Pedagogical University, 6 (3), 275–282.
  3. Singh, N., Kirti, J.S. and Datta, H.S., 2019. Establishment of the new genus Parvuspina for an undescribed Lithosiini species of Asura/Miltochrista generic complex (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae). Zootaxa, 4686(1), pp.145-150.
  4. Singh, N. ,Joshi, R.,Kirti, J. S.,Bisht, S. S., & H. S. Param. 2021. A catalogue of Indian Arctiinae (Erebidae, Lepidoptera). Zootaxa 5058 (1): 001–118.

Note: Updated from Miltochrista dasara to Miltochrista undulata Swinhoe (1903) on 22 Dec 2021 (SS). As per Volynkin & Bucsek (2016) and Singh et al. (2021), according to the current treatment, Miltochrista dasara (Moore, [1860]) is distributed only in Java & Bali. The South Indian records of M. dasara belong to M. chromatica and the Himalayan and North East Indian records belong to M. undulata (Swinhoe, 1903). The female of Miltochrista undulata Swinhoe (1903) is very similar to Parvuspina tawaghatensis Singh, Kirti & Datta, 2019 (TL: Tawaghat, Pithoragarh District, Uttarakhand), and can be best separated from it by examining genitalia (Singh et al 2019). The individuals cq650, cq673 and cq719 from Kausani with straw colored wings, slightly different wing shape and darker colored legs maybe this species. 

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Miltochrista undulata Swinhoe (1903) – . In Sondhi, S., Y. Sondhi, R.P. Singh, P. Roy and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 3.72. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://moths.ncbs.res.in/miltochrista-undulata, accessed 2024/03/28.