S. Mahunka szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 50. (Budapest, 1989)
ROVARTANI KÖZLEMÉNYEK L 1969 p. 119-135 Plusiinae (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) from Vietnam* By L. RONKAY (Received February 5, 1969) Abstract: Plusiinae 'Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) from Vietnam - The annotated list of the 20 Plusiinae species collected in Vietnam by four Hungarian expeditions, including the descriptions of two new species, Chrysodeixis chrysopepla sp. n. and Ctenoplusia fAcanthoplusia) microptera sp. n. INTRODUCTION Within the framework of an agreement between the National Center for Scientific Research of Vietnam and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, four Hungarian zoological expeditions went to Vietnam between 1968 and 1988. The reports on these trips containing the characterizations of the collecting sites and methods have already been published (Mahunka and Oláh, 1986; Mészáros, Oláh and Vásárhelyi, 1987) or are in press. It is important to note that the fourth expedition had opportunity to work in the southern part of the country, in the vicinity of Ho Chi Minh City (Sai Gon). The material of Plusiinae is relatively large, consisting of 172 specimens which belong to twenty species. Two of them are new for science and further eight species are reported here for the first time from Vietnam. The composition of the Plusiinae fauna of Vietnam is highly interesting from a zoological point of view. It was pointed out that all the Plusiinae species known from the territory of Vietnam - with the exceptions of the two newly described ones - were found also in the SE confines of the Palaearctic Region. On the other hand, there is only a single species - C. agnata Staudinger - to be mentioned as principally Palaearctic (the identity of E. r utilifrons Walker, listed by de Joannis, is open to doubt). The SE region of the Himalayan chain and the Pacific Coast, including the series of islands from Hainan to Japan, represent the bridges of the faunal movement. The former for the Transhimalayan-Indo-Australian rainforest fauna and the latter for the Palaearctic species inhabiting the rich , humid E Palaearctic forest zone; though the latter effect is less expressive. Contrarily, the recent distribution patterns suggest that it was the route of the northern invasion of the expansive, polyphagous Oriental Plusiinae. More than the half of the Vietnamese Plusiinae species belongs to the Oriental rainforest fauna. The majority of them - although their distributions are not satisfactorily known - seems to be restricted to the northern part of the Oriental Region 'C. minutus Dufay, P. aeneofusa Hampson, C. tarassota Hampson, T. reticulata Moore, M. (S. ) Jessica Butler and D. hedysma de Joannis), The two newly discovered species are, very probably, also the representatives of this faunal type. Hungarian zoological studies in Vietnam, No. 14.
