Amerila magnifica  (Rothschild )

Description
Male. Fw length 33 mm; fw ground-colour white, discal area with a broad transverse fuscous brown band from the costal margin to the outer angle of the hind margin; fw apex also fuscous brown extending further along the costal and outer margin; fw veins dark, discal vein lined with dark brown scales, costa with a short, very broad areole at the base and a short, narrow, transverse dark brown band; hw white, weakly scaled, shape of outer margin slightly concave towards the anal angle. Head, thorax, and base of abdomen dorsally white; tegulae with a single conspicuous black spot basally; outer sides of femora white, fore tibiae and tarsi dark brown, inner sides and all other parts of the legs yellow. Abdomen dorsally white from base to segment IV, the posterior segments dark red, ventrally all white.
Female. As male but larger (fw length 36 mm) and fw costa without areole.

magnifica 94-0035.GIF (10009 Byte)

Male genitalia
magnifica a.GIF (3667 Byte) magnifica b.GIF (9697 Byte) magnifica c.GIF (2730 Byte) magnifica d.GIF (7575 Byte)
view on leftside of vinculum and valva, lateral view inner side of right valva tegumen/uncus, dorsal view aedeagus with vesica everted
Uncus long and narrow, the tip curved ventrally and pointed. Valvae large, oval-shaped but not very broad; outer surface with long extrusible, hirsute, tube-like coremata; inner sclerotized process large, strongly curved and hook-like, apically pointed. Vesica distally with a plate-like sclerotization, but without any cornuti.
Distribution
East Africa; Kenya, Zimbabwe.
Comments
Despite its conspicuous appearance this species is only known from 4 specimens. Both in phenotype and genitalia, A. magnifica is quite distinct from other African Amerila.
Material
Rhodogastria magnifica Rothschild, 1910: 183. Holotype male (examined): Brit.E.Africa / Rhodogastria magnifica Rothsch. Type / Rothschild Bequest, B.M.1939-1. / Type / Arctiidae genitalia slide No. 4427 [BMNH; abdomen dissected]. Type locality: KENYA.
Additional material examined. KENYA: Siluve, 26.i.1963 (1 female, BMNH), 'Siluve P.E.A., 15.i.1964 (1 female, NMBZ). ZIMBABWE: Vumba, 12.i.1962 (1 male, NMBZ).