Sabatinca demissa

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Sabatinca demissa
Sabatinca demissa Holotype TYPELEP010740.png
Holotype specimen
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Micropterigidae
Genus: Sabatinca
Species:
S. demissa
Binomial name
Sabatinca demissa
Philpott, 1923 [1]

Sabatinca demissa is a species of moth belonging to the family Micropterigidae. [2] It is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the northern half of the North Island. The larvae of this species are small in size and are coloured pale green with darker green or black patches on the rear of its body. The adult moth is coloured yellow-brown with black dots on its forewings. It is a small moth with a wingspan of approximately 6.5 mm in length. Unlike many species of moth, it does not have a pheromone communication system. The adults of the species are on the wing from November to January. The larvae of this species feed on leafy types of liverwort. The adults of this species feed on the spores of fertile cones of Lycopodium volubile and Lycopodium scariosum .

Contents

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1923. [3] Philpott used three specimens collected by Robin John Tillyard in November at Te Wairoa Falls. [3] The holotype specimen is held in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection. [2]

Description

Female Fig 15 MA I437910 TePapa Plate-XLIX-The-butterflies full (cropped).jpg
Female
Sabatinca demissa larva LEPI Micropterigidae Sabatinca demissa larva.png
Sabatinca demissa larva

The larvae are small in size with a mature larva being only 2.5 mm in length. [2] It is coloured pale green and has darker green to black patches on the posterior portion of its body. [2]

Philpott described the adults of this species as follows:

♀. 6-5 mm. Head ochreous, with a dense spreading frontal tuft of long coarse hair. Antennae ochreous, with broad blackish bands at base, at 12, and before apex. Thorax ochreous. Abdomen fuscous-grey. Legs ochreous, tarsi annulated with blackish. Forewings rather broad, apex broadly pointed ; ochreous irrorated with dark fuscous; three or four incomplete black strigae on apical 14: cilia ochreous, with a black bar marking apex of the wing. Hindwings and cilia grey-fuscous. [3]

This yellow-brown coloured species has a wingspan of approximately 6.5 mm. [2] In 1923 Philpott published a paper where he attempted to find differences between the species within the Sabatinca genus by studying the venation of their hindwings. [4] This species does not have a long-distance pheromone communication system. [5] Its nearest living relative is S. incongruella which is found in the northern parts of the South Island. [2]

Distribution

S. demissa is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the northern half of the North Island. [1] [2]

Behaviour

This species is on the wing from the middle of November until the beginning of January. [2] Adults are day flying but prefer to inhabit areas where the light is filtered through a leafy canopy rather than directly sunlit areas. [6]

Host species

Lycopodium volubile Lycopodium volubile 127610922.jpg
Lycopodium volubile

The larvae of this species feed on leafy types of liverwort. [2] The adults of this species feed on the spores of fertile cones of Lycopodium volubile and Lycopodium scariosum . [2] [7]

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<i>Hierodoris eremita</i> Species of moth endemic to New Zealand

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<i>Chrysorthenches porphyritis</i> Species of moth endemic to New Zealand

Chrysorthenches porphyritis is a species of moth of the family Plutellidae. It was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1885 and is endemic to New Zealand. This species can be found on both the North and South Islands in open native forest and scrub at altitudes from sea level up to 1370 m. The larvae feed on Podocarpus laetus, P. totara, P. nivalis, and Phyllocladus alpinus. The larvae create a shelter by loosely spinning together the leaves of its host plant and can be found feeding in groups. The pupa is formed inside a thin cocoon. Hudson was of the opinion that this species had two broods a year. Adult moths are on the wing all year round. The adults of this species, particularly the female, are variable in colouration and in forewing pattern.

References

  1. 1 2 "Sabatinca demissa Philpott, 1923". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 George W. Gibbs (30 June 2014). "Micropterigidae (Insecta: Lepidoptera)" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. 72. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.72. ISSN   0111-5383. OCLC   917549814. Wikidata   Q44902221. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Alfred Philpott (14 December 1923), Notes and descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera, vol. 54, pp. 148–154, Wikidata   Q109354500
  4. Alfred Philpott (14 December 1923). "A Study of the Venation of the New Zealand Species of Micropterygidae". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 54: 155–161. ISSN   1176-6158. Wikidata   Q109353010.
  5. Ring T. Cardé and Albert K. Minks (1997). Insect Pheromone Research: New Directions. Chapman and Hall. p. 477. ISBN   0-412-99611-1.
  6. Gibbs, George; Lees, David (2014-11-01), New Caledonia as an evolutionary cradle: a re-appraisal of the jaw-moth genus Sabatinca (Lepidoptera: Micropterigidae) and its significance for assessing the antiquity of the island's fauna, pp. 239–266, ISBN   978-2-85653-707-7 , retrieved 2021-11-02
  7. "Sabatinca demissa Philpott, 1923". plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz. 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-03.