Tingena letharga

Last updated

Tingena letharga
Tingena letharga lectotype.jpg
Male lectotype
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Oecophoridae
Genus: Tingena
Species:
T. letharga
Binomial name
Tingena letharga
(Meyrick, 1883) [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Oecophora lethargaMeyrick, 1883
  • Borkhausenia letharga(Meyrick, 1883)

Tingena letharga is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. [2] It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in Otago. Adults are on the wing in December and January.

Contents

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1883 using specimens collected in Dunedin in January. [3] [4] Meyrick originally named the species Oecophora horaea. [3] Meyrick went on to give a fuller description of the species in 1884. [4] In 1915 Meyrick placed this species within the Borkhausenia genus. [5] In 1926 Alfred Philpott was unable to study the genitalia of the male of this species as it was not represented in collections in New Zealand. [6] George Hudson discussed this species under the name Borkhausenia letharga in his 1928 publication The butterflies and moths of New Zealand. [7] In 1988 J. S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Tingena. [2] The male lectotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London. [2]

Description

Illustration of T. letharga by George Hudson. Fig 3 MA I437913 TePapa Plate-LII-The-butterflies full (cropped).jpg
Illustration of T. letharga by George Hudson.

Meyrick first described this species as follows:

Fore wings whitish-grey, irrorated with fuscous, three anterior costal spots, two discal dots, a third on fold before first, and posterior transverse angulated line dark fuscous ; hind wings grey. [3]

Meyrick described this species more fully as follows:

Male. — 16-16+12 mm. Head, palpi, antennae, and thorax ochreous-whitish, mixed with fuscous-grey. Abdomen ochreous-whitish. Anterior and middle legs fuscous-grey, central ring of tibiae and apex of all joints ochreous-whitish ; posterior legs ochreous-whitish. Forewings moderate, costa moderately arched, apex rounded, hindmargin extremely obliquely rounded ; pale whitish-grey, slightly ochreous-tinged, and irrorated with dark fuscous ; a cloudy fuscous spot on costa at base, another at 14, and a third in middle ; a small cloudy dark fuscous spot in disc near base ; a dark fuscous dot in disc before middle, a second beyond middle, and a third rather obliquely before first on fold ; a cloudy fuscous outwards-bent transverse line from f of costa to anal angle, indented inwards beneath costa : cilia pale whitish-ochreous, sprinkled with dark fuscous. Hindwings light grey, apex darker ; cilia grey-whitish, with a distinct grey line near base. [4]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in Otago including at Dunedin and Ida Valley. [1] [4] [7]

Behaviour

Adults of this species are on the wing in December and January. [4] [7]

Related Research Articles

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

Tingena anaema is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been collected at Lake Wakatipu, Invercargill and Stewart Island / Rakiura. The adults of the species are on the wing in December.

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

Tingena apanthes is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and found in the North Island. The adults are on the wing from October to December. It appears associated with Leptospermum species and it has been hypothesised that the appearance of the adults of this species imitates faded Leptospermum leaves.

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

Tingena crotala is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found both in the North and South Islands. This species inhabits native forest and is on the wing in November and December.

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

Tingena epimylia is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found in both the North and the South Islands. This species is similar in appearance to Tingena contextella as it too has a mottled appearance, but T. epimylia can be distinguished as it is smaller in size, slightly narrower wings, and has a more grey appearance and a grey head. This species inhabits native beech forests at altitudes between 1500 and 2000 ft and in particular has an affinity for Nothofagus solandri.

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

Tingena eriphaea is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been found in Otago. This species is known to inhabit native beech forest.

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

Tingena homodoxa is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the southern parts of the South Island. It inhabits open grassy slopes and is on the wing from November until January.

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

Tingena hoplodesma is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been found in the North and South Islands. T. hoplodesma prefers native beech forest habitat and adults are on the wing from January to March.

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

Tingena horaea is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and have been observed in both the North and South Islands. The adults are on the wing in January.

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

Tingena macarella is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found on both the North and South Islands. Adults of this species are on the wing from November until February. This species is attracted to light and the larvae are litter feeders.

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

Tingena maranta is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the lower South Island. Adults of this species are on the wing from October until January. This species perfers grass or low herb habitat. Unlike its close relatives it does not inhabit native forest.

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

Tingena melanamma is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in Marlborough, Otago and Southland.

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

Tingena paratrimma is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the lower parts of the South Island. George Hudson regarded this species are uncommon. The adults of this species are on the wing from November to February.

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

Tingena penthalea is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in Wellington and the Tararua Range. The adults of this species are on the wing from December until February.

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

Tingena perichlora is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the southern parts of the South Island. This species appears to inhabit manuka scrub. Adults of this species are on the wing from October to January.

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

Tingena pharmactis is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the Nelson, Tasman and Wellington regions. The adults of this species are on the wing in December.

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

Tingena pronephela is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the southern parts of the South Island. The species inhabits the outskirts of scrub and native forest. The adults of this species are on the wing from October to February.

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

Tingena siderodeta is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found throughout the country. This species prefers to inhabit native forest and scrubland but has also been found to be common in cultivated landscapes. The larvae are litter feeders and have been observed in Kanuka and Manuka forest. The adult moths are on the wing from October to February and are day flying but have also been trapped at night.

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

Tingena siderota is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed at Mount Arthur, Arthur's Pass and in the Hawkes Bay. The adults of this species are on the wing in January and are said to be abundant on the flowers of species in the genus Aciphylla.

References

  1. 1 2 Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia : chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 462. ISBN   978-1-877257-93-3. OCLC   973607714. OL   25288394M. Wikidata   Q45922947.
  2. 1 2 3 4 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: 102–103. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN   0111-5383. Wikidata   Q45083134.
  3. 1 2 3 Edward Meyrick (September 1883). "Descriptions of New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera.—III.—Oecophoridae". New Zealand Journal of Science. 1: 524. Wikidata   Q106368126.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Edward Meyrick (1884). "Descriptions of New Zealand Microlepidoptera. III. Oecophoridae". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 16: 35–36. ISSN   1176-6158. Wikidata   Q63976486.
  5. E. Meyrick (12 July 1915). "Revision of New Zealand Tineina". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 47: 212. ISSN   1176-6158. Wikidata   Q63123349.
  6. Alfred Philpott (1926). "List of New Zealand species of Borkhausenia (Oecophoridae: Lepidoptera), including new species". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand . 56: 399–413. ISSN   1176-6166. Wikidata   Q110157185.
  7. 1 2 3 George Vernon Hudson (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington, p. 271, OCLC   25449322, Wikidata   Q58593286