Pasiphila lunata

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Pasiphila lunata
Pasiphila lunata female.jpg
Female
Pasiphila lunata male.jpg
Male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Pasiphila
Species:
P. lunata
Binomial name
Pasiphila lunata
(Philpott, 1912) [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Chloroclystis lunataPhilpott, 1912

Pasiphila lunata is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. [1] This species was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1912. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed on both the North and South Island. Larvae feed on Veronica species including on Veronica salicifolia.

Contents

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1912 and originally named Chloroclystis lunata. [3] In 1928 George Hudson illustrated and discussed this species under that name in his book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand. [4] In 1971 John S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Pasiphila . [5] The male holotype, collected by Philpott at Wallacetown in Southland, is held at the New Zealand Arthropod Collection. [2]

Description

Philpott described the male adult of this species as follows:

♂. 18-19 mm. Head, palpi, thorax, and abdomen dark greenish-fuscous. Palpi 1+1⁄2. Antennae biciliated with long fascicles, ciliations 3. Forewings triangular, costa almost straight, termen slightly bowed, subsinuate on lower half ; dark greenish- fuscous ; veins marked more or less with black ; lines obscure ; some faint thin waved green lines near base ; median band ochreous except beneath costa, anterior edge from 1⁄2 to 3⁄5, waved, hardly curved, posterior from 3⁄4 to 4⁄5, bluntly projecting at middle and concave on lower half ; a thin dentate bluish-green subterminal line : cilia ochreous, barred with fuscous. Hindwings fuscous, sprinkled with ochreous ; veins with alternate black and white dots ; a thin dentate bluish-green subterminal line. ♀ as ♂, but median band almost obsolete, and with prominent irregular crescentic white mark in middle of forewing, the limbs directed posteriorly. [3]

Hudson described this species as being variable in appearance and dark looking compared to other species in the genus Pasiphila. [4]

Distribution

Live specimen. Pasiphila lunata 124491649.jpg
Live specimen.

P. lunata is endemic to New Zealand. [1] It has been observed in both the North and South Islands. [6]

Habitat and hosts

Larval host Veronica salicifolia. Veronica salicifolia 501303546.jpg
Larval host Veronica salicifolia.

The larvae feed on Veronica species. [7] Philpott stated that he found larvae of this species on Veronica salicifolia . [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Pasiphila lunata (Philpott, 1912)". www.nzor.org.nz. Archived from the original on 2024-12-22. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  2. 1 2 Dugdale , J. S. (23 September 1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa". Fauna of New Zealand. 14. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research: 188. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN   0111-5383. Wikidata   Q45083134.
  3. 1 2 Alfred Philpott (1912). "Art. VIII. — Descriptions of Three New Species of Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute (in English and English). 44: 115. ISSN   1176-6158. Wikidata   Q135656794. BHL page 3304886 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. 1 2 Hudson, G. V. (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington: Ferguson and Osborn Limited, p. 93, LCCN   88133764, OCLC   25449322, Wikidata   Q58593286 BHL page 61899704 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  5. ↑ Dugdale, J. S. (10 November 1971). "Entomology of the Aucklands and other islands south of New Zealand: Lepidoptera, excluding non-crambine Pyralidae". Pacific Insects Monographs . 27: 106. ISSN   0078-7515. Wikidata   Q64006453.
  6. ↑ "Pasiphila lunata (Philpott, 1912)". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  7. ↑ O. R. Green (1984). "New Zealand host and locality records for an introduced tortricid parasite, Trigonospila brevifacies (Diptera: Tachinidae)". New Zealand Entomologist. 8: 69–71. doi:10.1080/00779962.1984.9722470.
  8. ↑ Alfred Philpott (1917). "A list of the Lepidoptera of Otago". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 49: 202. ISSN   1176-6158. Wikidata   Q63958657.
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