Daphnusa haxairei Melichar & Řezáč, 2014, European Entomologist, 6(3): 190. Type locality: India, Arunachal Pradesh, Passighat District, 25km from Passighat, 630m.
Note. Daphnusa haxairei was described as a separate species based on small differences in male genitalia, wing markings and DNA barcodes (Melichar & Řezáč, 2014). They recorded this rare species from Arunachal Pradesh in India and confirmed the identification by DNA barcoding and male genitalial structure. Daphnusa haxairei is very similar to Daphnusa sinocontinentalis Brechlin, 2009, but can be distinguished by its larger forewings, olive eyespot and elongate V-shape of the male juxta (Jiang, Xu, Lin, Liu, Wang & Hu, 2025).
Very similar to Daphnusa ocellaris Walker, 1856. In the male, the head is brownish-grey with a dorsal black stripe and orange palpi. The thorax is blackish-brown, exhibiting a dorsal pinkish-brown pattern resembling a skeletal face. The basal part of the abdomen is yellow dorsally, transitioning to brown in the middle, and ending in a black terminal region, while the ventral surface remains yellow. The forewing is elongated and triangular, with a falcate apex with a small concavity and a smooth outer margin; the distal part of the inner margin shows slight concavity. The dorsal surface of the forewing has a brown ground color, with a black band marked by zigzag lines in the basal area, accompanied by five dark green curved lines. A black line extends from the basal to the medial area near the cell, along with a dark brown medial line. The coloration transitions to creamy in the medial to submarginal areas, with scattered black scales, and a black falcate patch and line extending from vein Rs4 to the margin of the anal area and ending in a large circular black patch near the tornus. On the ventral side, the ground color is yellow, featuring patterns similar to those on the dorsal side but more densely marked with brown spots. The hindwing has a yellow ground color with black patches and curved lines in the medial area, with scattered brown crackles, and the submarginal to marginal regions are black. The tornus projects sharply. Ventrally, the ground color remains yellow with a pattern resembling the dorsal side marked in grey-brown, but more extensive (Jiang, Xu, Lin, Liu, Wang & Hu, 2025).
In the male genitalia, the primary difference between the species lies in the morphology of the juxta (Brechlin, 2009). In Daphnusa sinocontinentalis it is finger-shaped, in Daphnusa ocellaris it is pear-shaped, whereas in Daphnusa haxairei it is an elongate V-shape (Melichar & Řezáč, 2014). Otherwise, the uncus is broad, with an apex divided into two lobes, each of which terminates in a sharp, curved hook. The gnathos is absent. The valve is rounded, with a thickened dorsal margin that curves inward, and a long, sharp spine projecting ventrally from the apical region, which also features a sharp hook. The sacculus bears a ventral, elongated, upward-curving sclerite. The phallus is slender, lacking any apical teeth (Jiang, Xu, Lin, Liu, Wang & Hu, 2025).
Unknown.
China: 25.vi (Xizang/Tibet).
OVUM: Unknown.
LARVA: Unknown.
PUPA: Unknown.
Larval hostplants. Unknown.
Unknown.
China: Xizang/Tibet (Nyingchi/Linzhi, Namjagbarwa region).
Endemic to Arunachal Pradesh, India, and neighbouring areas of southeastern Xizang/Tibet, China
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