Acroclita discariana

Acroclita discariana is a species of moth in the family Tortricidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is classified as Nationally Vulnerable by the Department of Conservation.

Acroclita discariana

Nationally Vulnerable (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Tortricidae
Genus: Acroclita
Species:
A. discariana
Binomial name
Acroclita discariana

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1930 using a specimen collected by Stuart Lindsay at Porter River.[3] Philpott named the species Acroclita discariana.[3] The genus level classification of this species is regarded as unsatisfactory.[2] As such this species is also currently known as Acroclita (s.l.) discariana.[4] The holotype specimen is held at Canterbury Museum.[5]

Description

Philpott described the species as follows:

♂︎♀︎. 15-16mm. Head, palpi and thorax grey; head with projecting scales on frons ; palpi with projecting scales above and beneath, terminal segment short, almost hidden. Antennae grey, simple in both sexes. Abdomen fuscous grey. Legs grey, tarsi obscurely annulated with white. Forewings moderate, costa slightly arched, without fold, apex blunt-pointed, termen slightly sinuate, oblique; grey mixed with brownish beneath costa and round termen, numerous transverse blackish strigulae ; a triangular blackish spot in disk at ​1⁄3 and a V-shaped blackish mark at ​2⁄3, both of these marks being much more prominent in the ♀︎ ; fringes fuscous grey, with a thin faint white median line. Hindwings fuscous, fringes greyish fuscous with a darker basal line.[3]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[2][6] The species range of this moth is Marlborough, North Canterbury and Mid Canterbury.[7] The occurrence of A. discariana is patchy within this range.[4] Other than its type locality, this species has been collected at Motunau/Gore Bay Beach,[4] Cass,[4] Jacks Pass in Hamner,[8] Amberley Beach,[8] Famish Stream in the Upper Wairau Valley,[4] and the Culverden Scientific Reserve,[9]

Biology and life cycle

The larvae of A. discariana make distinctive webbing on their host plant.[7] It is very tough, white and is formed at the stem axils of their host.[4] The webbing can be as large as 30cm in diameter.[4] The species inhabits this webbing both as larvae and pupae.[8] The adult moth is day flying.[9] The species is on the wing in October[9] and November.[8]

Host species

The host species for this moth is the endemic plant Discaria toumatou.[7][10]

Conservation status

This moth is classified under the New Zealand Threat Classification system as being Nationally Vulnerable.[1]

References
  1. Hoare, R.J.B.; Dugdale, J.S.; Edwards, E.D.; Gibbs, G.W.; Patrick, B.H.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Rolfe, J.R. (2017). Conservation status of New Zealand butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), 2015 (PDF). Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Department of Conservation. p. 7. ISBN 9781988514383.
  2. "Acroclita discariana Philpott, 1930". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  3. Philpott, Alfred (1930). "Descriptions of Lepidoptera in the Canterbury Museum". Records of the Canterbury Museum. 3: 247–250.
  4. Pawson, S. M. (2000). "The conservation status of invertebrates in Canterbury". Researchgate. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  5. Dugdale, John S. (1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 14: 1–269 – via Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.
  6. Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume two. Kingdom animalia : chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. Christchurch, N.Z.: Canterbury University Press. p. 464. ISBN 9781877257933. OCLC 973607714.
  7. Patrick, Brian; Dugdale, John S. (2000). Conservation status of the New Zealand lepidoptera (PDF). Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Conservation, New Zealand. ISBN 0478218672. OCLC 154670803. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  8. Hudson, George Vernon (1939). A supplement to the butterflies and moths of New Zealand. Wellington: Ferguson & Osborn Co. Ltd. p. 436.
  9. "Acroclita discariana". iNaturalist.org. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  10. "HOSTS - The Hostplants and Caterpillars Database at the Natural History Museum". www.nhm.ac.uk. Natural History museum, London. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
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