Batrachedra psithyra

Batrachedra psithyra is a species of moth in the family Batrachedridae. It is endemic to New Zealand.

Batrachedra psithyra
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Batrachedridae
Genus:
Batrachedra
Species:
B. psithyra
Binomial name
Batrachedra psithyra
Synonyms[2]
  • Batrachedra psathyra (Meyrick, 1889)

Taxonomy

B. psithyra was described in 1889 by Edward Meyrick using material he collected in Hamilton.[2][3] George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in his 1928 publication The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand under the name Batrachedra psathyra.[4] The lectotype specimen is held by the Natural History Museum, London.[2]

Description

Meyrick described the species as follows:

♂︎. 7-10mm. Head, thorax, and abdomen pearly white. Palpi white, second joint with a blackish sub-apical ring, scales slightly projecting, terminal joint with a blackish basal ring. Antennae white, indistinctly ringed with pale fuscous. Legs white, indistinctly banded with fuscous. Forewings elongate, very narrow, long-pointed ; veins 6 and 7 stalked ; white, more or less sprinkled with fuscous ; a dark fuscous elongate dot in disc before middle, a second very obliquely before it on fold, and a third in disc beyond ​2⁄3 ; a sharply-marked black apical dot : cilia whitish, with a black line opposite apex only. Hindwings with veins 2, 3, and 5 absent ; whitish ; cilia whitish.[3]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[1][5] Specimens have been collected in Kaeo, Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Queenstown and Invercargill.[3][4] It has also been found in Fiordland,[6] and on Somes Island.[7]

Biology and behaviour

The adult moths of this species is on the wing from November to January.[4] It flies freely at sunset.[4] Hudson stated it was common in the upper parts of the Wellington Reservoir Reserve, an area now known as Zealandia.[4] At rest, this species raises the forepart of its body and when about to move has a habit of waving alternate antennae.[4]

Habitat and host species

The species prefers rough overgrown habitat of grasslands or fern glades near forest.[4] This species has also been found in gumland heath habitat.[8] The larvae of this species feed on fern sori and these hosts include the species Histiopteris incisa.[9][10]

References
  1. "Batrachedra psithyra Meyrick, 1889". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
  2. Dugdale, J. S. (1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 14: 1–264. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  3. Meyrick, Edward (1889). "Descriptions of New Zealand Micro-lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 21: 154–188 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. Hudson, G. V. (1928). The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand. Wellington: Ferguson & Osborn Ltd. p. 303. OCLC 25449322.
  5. 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.
  6. Clarke, C. E. (1933). "The Lepidoptera of the Te Anau-Manapouri lakes districts". Transactions and Proceedings of the Institute of New Zealand. 63 (2): 112–132.
  7. Grehan, J. R. (January 1990). "Invertebrate survey of Somes Island (Matiu) and Mokopuna Island, Wellington Harbour, New Zealand" (PDF). New Zealand Entomologist. 13 (1): 62–75. doi:10.1080/00779962.1990.9722595. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  8. Hoare, R. J. B. (February 2011). "Lepidoptera of gumland heaths — a threatened and rare ecosystem of northern New Zealand" (PDF). New Zealand Entomologist. 34 (1): 67–76. doi:10.1080/00779962.2011.9722212. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-08. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  9. "PlantSynz - Invertebrate herbivore biodiversity assessment tool: Database". plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  10. Lindsay, Stewart (1927). "A list of the Lepidoptera of Dean's Bush, Riccarton, Canterbury". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 57: 693–696.
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