Orocrambus fugitivellus

Orocrambus fugitivellus is a moth in the family Crambidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is classified as critically endangered by the Department of Conservation.

Orocrambus fugitivellus
Male

Nationally Critical (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Crambidae
Genus:
Orocrambus
Species:
O. fugitivellus
Binomial name
Orocrambus fugitivellus
(Hudson, 1950)
Synonyms
  • Crambus fugitivellus Hudson, 1950

Taxonomy

This species was first described by George Hudson in 1950 using a specimen collected by R. D. Dick in 1939 in an area adjacent to Grays River in the Mackenzie country.[2][3] Hudson named the species Crambus fugitivellus.[2] In 1975 David Edward Gaskin assigned Crambus fugitivellus to the genus Orocrambus.[4] The type specimen of O. fugitivellus is held in the Hudson collection at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[4][5]

Description

The larvae of this species have yet to be described.[6] The wingspan of the adult male is 18–19 mm.[4] In appearance the adult male of O. fuitivellus is similar to O. aethonellus but differs in the more abrupt tapering of its forewings and the very oblique termen.[2] The female of the species is brachypterous.[6]

Distribution

O. fugitivellus is endemic to New Zealand.[7][8] The Grays River wetlands in the Mackenzie Basin is the only area where this species has been recorded.[4] Male adults of the species have been recorded on wing in February[3][4] and are active during the day.[6]

Host plants

Although this species inhabits shrub/grasslands its host plants have yet to be discovered.[6]

Conservation Status

This species has the "Nationally Critical" conservation status under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[1][9] It has been recommended that the type locality of O. fugitivellus, the Grays River wetlands, be protected to help conserve the species.[3]

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). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 20: 6.
  2. Hudson, George Vernon (1950). Fragments of New Zealand entomology : a popular account of all the New Zealand cicadas : the natural history of the New Zealand glow-worm : a second supplement to The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, and notes on many other native insects. Wellington, N.Z.: Ferguson & Osborn. p. 99. OCLC 154155584.
  3. Patrick, B. H. (January 1992). "Supplement to the Lepidoptera of the Mackenzie Country with recommendations on their conservation". New Zealand Entomologist. 15 (1): 48–58. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.534.4540. doi:10.1080/00779962.1992.9722629.
  4. Gaskin, D. E. (1975). "Revision of the New Zealand Crambini (Lepidoptera:Pyralidae: Crambinae)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 2 (3): 265–363. doi:10.1080/03014223.1975.9517878.
  5. Dugdale, J. S. (1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 14: 148. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  6. Patrick, Brian; Dugdale, John S. (2000). Conservation status of the New Zealand Lepidoptera (PDF). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. p. 28. ISBN 978-0478218671.
  7. "Orocrambus fugitivellus (Hudson, 1950)". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
  8. 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. 457. ISBN 9781877257933. OCLC 973607714.
  9. "Orocrambus fugitivellus (Hudson, 1951)". www.landcareresearch.co.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
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