ARCTIIDAE AND CTENUCHIDAE FORMERLY IN AUTOMOLIS 5 



as was Hampson (1901 : 3). The effect of Zerny's action was to synonymize 

 Metarctia Walker (1855 : 7°9) wrtn Automolis Hiibner [1819ft], but it remained for 

 Travassos (1943) to reveal this. Hampson's (1901) usage of Automolis (for which 

 he incorrectly cited Sphinx sypilus Cramer as the type-species) in the Arctiidae 

 was unfortunately followed by numerous authors, including Strand (1919) and 

 Seitz (1921) in a world catalogue and illustrated monograph respectively, so that 

 by 1943 there were some 200 nominal Arctiid species in the genus Automolis, none 

 of them allied to its Thyretid type-species except at superfamily level. 



Hampson (1901 : 39), basing his conclusions on venational characters subsequently 

 shown to be unreliable (Sotavalta, 1964), placed 13 nominal genera in the synonymy 

 of Automolis and associated a startling array of differently patterned and coloured 

 species. He later (1920 : 129) added Ernassa Walker and Echeta Herrich-Schaffer, 

 by transference of its type-species, to this list of synonyms. (Caryatis Hiibner, 

 also listed by Hampson (1920), is a Hypsidae name wrongly applied by Hampson 

 as a result of an incorrect type-species designation (Travassos, 1943 : 456).) Forbes 

 (1939 : 192) pointed out that 'a study of the genitalic characters [of Automolis 

 species] may produce a grouping more like that suggested by their patterns' and 

 revealed that the few known larvae of Automolis are 'varied'. Travassos (1943) 

 re-established ten genera whose names had been relegated to synonymy by Hampson, 

 namely Apiconema Butler, Arara Walker (replaced by Lepidokirbyia Travassos), 

 Cresera Schaus, Echeta Herrich-Schaffer, Ernassa Walker, Eupiesia Felder, Machaer- 

 aptenus Schaus, Rhipha Walker, Sutonocrea Butler and Scaptius Walker; he also 

 transferred Apyre Walker, Cratopiastis Felder and Ormetica to the synonymy of 

 Rhipha Walker, and Gorgonidia to the synonymy of Cresera Schaus. Watson 

 (1971) re-established Cratopiastis, Gorgonidia and Ormetica. 



In the present paper 11 new genera are erected for 34 of those nominal species of 

 Arctiinae hitherto classified in Automolis, and each of the remaining 118 species 

 is transferred to one of 21 presently established Arctiinae genera or to one of three 

 Ctenuchidae genera; only the African type-species remains in Automolis. Most 

 of these transferences are probably taxonomically satisfactory; a few (indicated 

 in the text) are provisional placements. These provisionally placed species have 

 been transferred to genera in which they can be associated with their closest apparent 

 relatives, even though their new generic placement is in some instances doubtless 

 incorrect. Pending revisionary work on these genera, it seems better to take this 

 action than to retain these species in Automolis, a genus of Thyretidae. 



WARNING COLORATION AND MIMICRY 



Blest (1964) has commented on the anomalous variation in aposematic coloration 

 and colour-pattern in what he presumed to be closely related species of Arctiidae. 

 Selection pressures produced by diurnal predators could be expected to produce 

 close similarity in the coloration of unpalatable groups of species - a predator having 

 learnt to associate unpalatableness with a particular colour-pattern is likely to 

 respond in the same way to. other species exhibiting the same pattern. The resultant 

 Mullerian associations in the Acraeinae, Danainae, Ithomiinae, Heliconiinae and 



