Asterivora marmarea

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Asterivora marmarea
Asterivora marmarea holotype.jpg
Male holotype
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Choreutidae
Genus: Asterivora
Species:
A. marmarea
Binomial name
Asterivora marmarea
(Meyrick, 1888) [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Simaethis marmareaMeyrick, 1888

Asterivora marmarea is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae. [1] It is endemic to New Zealand and lives in mountainous habitats. It has been observed in the lower parts of the North Island and the upper South Island. The larval host of this species is Celmisia gracilenta and adults of this species are on the wing in December and January.

Contents

Taxonomy

This species was described by Edward Meyrick, collected at Lake Wakatipu at 2200 ft in December, and named Simaethis marmarea. [3] In 1928 George Hudson discussed this species under that name in his book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand. [4] In 1979 J. S. Dugdale placed this species within the genus Asterivora. [5] In 1988 Dugdale confirmed this placement. [2] The male holotype specimen, collected at Lake Wakatipu, is held at the Natural History Museum, London. [2]

Description

Meyrick described this species as follows:

Male.—10 mm. Head, thorax, and legs dark fuscous, densely irrorated with white. Palpi dark fuscous, with about eight fine white transverse bars, towards base suffused with white. Antennæ black, annulated with white. Abdomen dark fuscous, segmental margins sharply silvery-white. Forewings rather elongate, posteriorly somewhat dilated, costa gently arched, apex obtuse, hindmargin obliquely rounded; dark bronzy-fuscous; markings formed by a fine close white irroration; a small ill-defined basal patch; two cloudy dentate angulated almost confluent transverse lines about ⅓; an irregularly angulated transverse line beyond middle, its discal portion silvery-metallic and forming a small spot above middle, separated from preceding line by a black fascia; a straight line from ¾ of costa to anal angle; a silvery-metallic submarginal streak along upper half of hindmargin: cilia whitish, with thick black basal and grey median lines. Hindwings ovate, slightly elongate, rounded; rather dark fuscous; a small cloudy white discal spot at ⅓; a strong straight white line from anal angle to disc beyond middle; above and beyond apex of this a few white scales; cilia as in forewings. [3]

This species is very similar in appearance to A. microlitha but can be distinguished as A. marmarea has more pointed hindwings and a white long, thin line reaching to the tornus. [3]

Distribution

Lake Wakatipu, type locality of A. marmarea. Lake Wakatipu by Queenstown.jpg
Lake Wakatipu, type locality of A. marmarea.

This species is endemic to New Zealand. [1] [6] Along with the type locality of Lake Wakatipu this species has been collected in the Tasman region as well as at Coronet Peak and the Church Hill Wetland. [3] [7] [8]

Behaviour

Adults of this species are on the wing in December to February. [4] [9]

Habitat and hosts

Celmisia gracilenta, larval host plant for A. marmarea Celmisia gracilenta 170185570.jpg
Celmisia gracilenta, larval host plant for A. marmarea

This species inhabits mountain terrain. [4] The larvae have been both observed feeding on, as well as raised in captivity on, Celmisia gracilenta. [10] [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Asterivora</i> Genus of moths

Asterivora is a genus of moths in the family Choreutidae. Asterivora was described by J. S. Dugdale in 1979. The type species is Asterivora combinatana.

<i>Asterivora analoga</i> Species of moth, endemic to New Zealand

Asterivora analoga is a moth of the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in both the North and South Islands. Adults are on the wing in December and January.

<i>Asterivora albifasciata</i> Species of moth

Asterivora albifasciata is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed on both the North and South Islands. The adults of this species are on the wing in December and January. Larvae of this species have been raised on Celmisia brevifolia.

<i>Asterivora antigrapha</i> Species of moth

Asterivora antigrapha is a moth in the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the North and South Island. This species inhabits the edge of scrubland. The adults are on the wing in November and December. This species can be found flying the day. It has been hypothesised that this species hibernates over winter.

<i>Asterivora barbigera</i> Species of moth

Asterivora barbigera is a moth in the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the southern half of the South Island. It inhabits open mountain sides and adults are on the wing in November to January.

<i>Asterivora chatuidea</i> Species of moth

Asterivora chatuidea is a moth of the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been collected in and around Dunedin. The larvae of this species are leaf miners and hosts include Helichrysum lanceolatum, Olearia quinquevulnera and Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum. Adults of this species has been recorded as being on the wing in November, January and February.

<i>Asterivora colpota</i> Species of moth

Asterivora colpota is a moth in the family Choreutidae. It was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1911. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found throughout the North and South Islands. It is regarded as a lowland species and adults are on the wing from November until March. This moth has been collected by beating shrubs.

<i>Asterivora exocha</i> Species of moth

Asterivora exocha is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae. It was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1907 and is endemic to New Zealand. This species has only been observed in the Humboldt Ranges of Otago and inhabits subalpine native bush at elevations of around 3600 ft. Adults of this species are on the wing in December and January and have been observed flying at dusk.

<i>Asterivora fasciata</i> Species of moth

Asterivora fasciata is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been found at Arthur's Pass. The larvae of this species have been reared on Celmisia densiflora and adults are on the wing in January.

<i>Asterivora iochondra</i> Species of moth, endemic to New Zealand

Asterivora iochondra is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1911. This species has been observed in both the North and South Island at Mount Holdsworth and Mount Arthur. This species inhabits open spaces on mountains on the forest edge at 3000 ft altitude. Adults of this species are on the wing in February and flies rapidly in sunshine.

<i>Asterivora ministra</i> Species of moth

Asterivora ministra is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed at Mount Holdsworth and Mount Arthur. This species inhabits alpine native herbage above the tree line. The adults are on the wing in February.

<i>Asterivora urbana</i> Species of moth

Asterivora urbana is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in Arthur's Pass. Adults are on the wing in January.

<i>Asterivora tillyardi</i> Species of moth

Asterivora tillyardi is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and collected at Aoraki / Mount Cook. Adults of this species are on the wing in March.

<i>Asterivora symbolaea</i> Species of moth

Asterivora symbolaea is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in Arthur's Pass. This species lives in subalpine habitat. Adults of this is on the wing in January and February. Larvae are hosted by Celmisia prorepens.

<i>Asaphodes limonodes</i> Species of moth

Asaphodes limonodes is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found in both the North and South Islands. This species inhabits damp native forest. Adults are on the wing from November until March.

<i>Tingena chloritis</i> Species of moth, endemic to New Zealand

Tingena chloritis is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been found in the South Island. Larvae of this species feed on leaf litter. The adults of this species are light flyers and are attracted to light.

<i>Tingena hemimochla</i> Species of moth, endemic to New Zealand

Tingena hemimochla is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the North Island. Adults of this species are on the wing from December until March.

<i>Tingena letharga</i> Species of moth, endemic to New Zealand

Tingena letharga is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in Otago. Adults are on the wing in December and January.

<i>Tingena oxyina</i> Species of moth, endemic to New Zealand

Tingena oxyina is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the Otago region. This species inhabits native beech forest at altitudes of between 1000 - 3000 ft. Adults of this species are on the wing in January.

<i>Trachypepla aspidephora</i> Species of moth endemic to New Zealand

Trachypepla aspidephora is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the North and South Islands. Adults are on the wing from November to March and are attracted to light. The moths can be found resting on tree trunks where their colouration imitates lichens.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia : chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 457. ISBN   978-1-877257-93-3. OCLC   973607714. OL   25288394M. Wikidata   Q45922947.
  2. 1 2 3 John Stewart Dugdale (23 September 1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa". Fauna of New Zealand. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 14: 113. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN   0111-5383. Wikidata   Q45083134.
  3. 1 2 3 4 E. Meyrick (1888). "Descriptions of New Zealand Tineina". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 20: 85. ISSN   1176-6158. Wikidata   Q63125188.
  4. 1 2 3 George Vernon Hudson (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington: Ferguson and Osborn Limited, p. 309, LCCN   88133764, OCLC   25449322, Wikidata   Q58593286
  5. J. S. Dugdale (July 1979). "A new generic name for the New Zealand species previously assigned to Simaethis auctorum (Lepidoptera: Choreutidae), with description of a new species". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 6 (3): 461–466. doi:10.1080/03014223.1979.10428386. ISSN   0301-4223. Wikidata   Q54576372.
  6. "Asterivora marmarea (Meyrick, 1888)". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  7. "Asterivora marmarea Meyrick, 1888". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  8. Crown Pastoral Land Tenure Review Coronet Peak Conservation Resources Report - Part 2 (PDF) (Report). Land Information New Zealand. 2006. p. APPENDIX 6: Invertebrate Species List. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  9. 1 2 Brian H. Patrick (1991). Insects of the Dansey Ecological District (PDF). Vol. 32. pp. 1–25. ISBN   0-478-01285-3. ISSN   0113-3713. Wikidata   Q110318301. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2021.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  10. "Asterivora marmarea (Meyrick, 1888)". plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz. 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-04.