Pyroderces apparitella

Pyroderces apparitella is a species of moth in the family Cosmopterigidae. It is endemic to New Zealand.

Pyroderces apparitella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Cosmopterigidae
Genus:
Pyroderces
Species:
P. apparitella
Binomial name
Pyroderces apparitella
(Walker, 1864)[1][2]
Synonyms
  • Gelechia apparitella Walker, 1864
  • Proterocosma apparitella (Walker, 1864)
  • Anatrachyntis apparitella (Walker, 1864)

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Francis Walker in 1864 using a female specimen obtained from D. Bolton in Auckland and named Gelechia apparitella.[3][4][2] The holotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[4] In 1888 Edward Meyrick placed this species within the genus Proterocosma. However, in 1928 George Hudson discussed and illustrated the species under the name Pyroderces apparitella.[5] John S. Dugdale affirmed the placement of this species in the genus Pyroderces in 1988.[4]

Description

Walker described the species as follows:

Gilded ochraceous, slender. Head in front and under side silvery whitish. Palpi smooth, very slender, more than thrice longer than the breadth of the head; third joint setiform, as long as the second. Antennae slender, silvery white, shorter than the fore wings, with a black ring on each joint. Tibiae and tarsi with gilded bands. Fore wings with a silvery white line extending from the base towards a transverse outwardly and very acutely angular white line; two more exterior oblique white black-bordered lines, the first forming two angles, the second forming an outward acute and very prominent angle; two longitudinal subapical streaks, one black, the other white. Hind wings cinereous-aeneous. Length of the body 3 lines; of the wings 9 lines.[3]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[1][6] It is found in the North Island.[5]

Behaviour and biology

It is on the wing in December and January.[5]

Habitat and host species

This species inhabits forests and residential gardens.[5]

References
  1. "Pyroderces apparitella (Walker, 1864)". www.nzor.org.nz. Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  2. Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "Pyroderces apparitella". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  3. Walker, Francis (1864). "Part XXX. Tineites.". List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. 30. pp. 837–1096 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. Dugdale, J. S. (1988). "Lepidoptera — annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. Wellington, N.Z. 14: 86. ISBN 0477025188. OCLC 20332003. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  5. Hudson, G. V. (1928). The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand. Wellington: Ferguson & Osborn Ltd. p. 301. OCLC 25449322.
  6. Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume two. Kingdom animalia : chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. Christchurch, N.Z.: Canterbury University Press. p. 457. ISBN 9781877257933. OCLC 973607714.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.