Pterophorus innotatalis

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Pterophorus innotatalis
Pterophorus innotatalis 115171189.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pterophoridae
Genus: Pterophorus
Species:
P. innotatalis
Binomial name
Pterophorus innotatalis
Walker, 1864[1]
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Aciptilia innotatalis (Walker, 1864)
  • Alucita innotatalis (Walker, 1864)

Pterophorus innotatalis is a moth of the family Pterophoridae.[1] It is endemic to New Zealand and has been found in the North, South and Ruapuke Islands. Adults of this species have been recorded as being on the wing from October to March as well as in August and prefers to inhabit grass or fern covered hills. The larvae are leaf miners and feed on Dichondra species, including and Dichondra repens.

Taxonomy[]

This species was first described by Francis Walker in 1864 using a male specimen collected in Nelson by T. R. Oxley.[4][3] In May 1885 Edward Meyrick placed this species within the Aciptilia genus.[5] In 1928 George Hudson placed this species in the Alucita genus.[2] In 1988 confirmed the placement of this species back into its original genus Pterophorus.[3] The lectotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[3]

Description[]

Illustration of egg of P. innotatlis.

The larvae of P. innotatlis are small and very hairy.[6]

Walker described the adult of this species as follows:

Male. Pale ochraceous, slender. Legs silvery whitish, without any markings. Plumes of the wings extremely narrow. Fore wings unvaried, very acute. Hind wings cinereous-seneous, divided at the base into two plumes. Length of the body 4 lines ; of the wings 10 lines.[4]

Meyrick described the adult of this species as follows:

Male, female. — 15-16 mm. Head, palpi, antennae, thorax, and abdomen pale ochreous. Legs ochreous-whitish, anterior pair internally fuscous. Forewings pale whitish-yellowish, suffused with pale ochreous on anterior half : cilia dark fuscous, becoming yellow-whitish on costa before apex, on lower margin of second segment generally containing a black dot before middle and another beyond middle of segment. Hindwings dark grey ; cilia fuscous-grey.[5]

Distribution[]

Pterophorus innotatalis

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[1] It has been recorded in the North and South Islands as well as at Ruapuke Island.[2][7]

Behaviour[]

Adults of this species are on the wing from October to March but also in August, causing Hudson to hypothesise that it may have two or more broods a year.[2]

Habitat and host species[]

Dichondra repens, host species of P. innotatlis

P. innotatalis inhabits grass or fern covered hills.[2] The larvae are leaf miners and feed on Dichondra species, including and Dichondra repens.[6] The last larval instar feeds on both sides of the leaf of their host species.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Pterophorus innotatalis Walker, 1864". www.nzor.org.nz. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  2. ^ a b c d e George Vernon Hudson (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington, p. 210, OCLC 25449322, Wikidata Q58593286
  3. ^ a b c d John Stewart Dugdale (23 September 1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 14: 133. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN 0111-5383. Wikidata Q45083134. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b Francis Walker (1864), List of the specimens of lepidopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. XXX: Tineites, London, p. 945, Wikidata Q108264250
  5. ^ a b Edward Meyrick (May 1885). "Art. XII. — Descriptions of New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 17: 124–125. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q110063611.
  6. ^ a b c "Pterophorus innotatalis Walker, 1864". plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz. 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "Pterophorus innotatalis". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
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