Asterivora barbigera

Asterivora barbigera is a moth in the family Choreutidae.[1] 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.

Asterivora barbigera
Illustration of male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Choreutidae
Genus:
Asterivora
Species:
A. barbigera
Binomial name
Asterivora barbigera
(Meyrick, 1915)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Simaethis barbigera Meyrick, 1915

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick and named Simaethis barbigera.[3] In 1927 Alfred Philpott studied the male genitalia of this species.[4] George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in his 1928 publication The butterflies and moths of New Zealand.[5] In 1979 J. S. Dugdale placed this species within the genus Asterivora.[6] In 1988 Dugdale confirmed this placement.[2] The female holotype is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[5]

Description

The wingspan is about 19 mm. The head is bronzy irrorated with white and dark fuscous and the thorax is greyish-bronze sprinkled with white. The abdomen is bronzy-grey, although the segmental margins are white. The forewings are elongate, posteriorly dilated, the costa gently arched, the apex obtuse, the termen bowed and oblique. They are greyish-bronze, irregularly irrorated with white, especially towards the costa and on a terminal band. There is a white transverse dot on the end of the cell. A second line is formed of white irroration which is strongly curved outwards. The hindwings are light grey.[3]

This species is variable in the amount of white markings on its wings.[5]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[1][7] It is found in the southern half of the South Island and has been observed in the Hunter Mountains, the Hump range in Fiordland and at Bold Peak.[8][5]

Habitat

This species inhabits open mountain sides.[5]

Behaviour

The adults of this species are on the wing in November to January.[9][5]

References
  1. 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. 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. Edward Meyrick (1915). "Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 47: 203. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q110745619.
  4. Alfred Philpott (15 November 1927). "The Male Genitalia of the New Zealand Glyphipterygidae". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 58: 337–347. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q110772020.
  5. George Vernon Hudson (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington, p. 310, LCCN 88133764, OCLC 25449322, Wikidata Q58593286
  6. Dugdale, J. S. (1979-07-01). "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.
  7. "Asterivora barbigera (Meyrick, 1915)". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  8. "Asterivora barbigera Meyrick, 1915". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  9. "Asterivora barbigera AMNZ14080". Auckland Museum Collections Online. 22 November 2002. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
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