Zelleria sphenota

Zelleria sphenota is a species of moth in the family Yponomeutidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is classified as "At Risk, Declining'" by the Department of Conservation.

Zelleria sphenota
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Yponomeutidae
Genus: Zelleria
Species:
Z. sphenota
Binomial name
Zelleria sphenota
(Meyrick, 1889)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Hofmannia sphenota Meyrick, 1889

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1889 and named Hofmannia sphenota.[3][2] Meyrick used a specimen he collected from Riccarton Bush in August.[2][4] George Hudson discussed the species in his 1928 book The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand using the name Zelleria sphenota.[5] The holotype specimen of this species is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[2] The genus level classification of this moth is currently regarded as unsatisfactory.[1] As such the species is also known as Zelleria (s.l.) sphenota.[1]

Description

The larvae of this species are green in colour.[6]

Meyrick described the male adult of the species as follows:

♂ 13mm. Head and antennae light ochreous-grey. Palpi grey. Thorax light ochreous. Abdomen whitish-ochreous. Legs fuscous, posterior pair ochreous-whitish. Forewings very elongate, very narrow parallel-sided, long-pointed, acute ; pale ochreous, thinly and irregularly sprinkled with dark fuscous and whitish ; basal half of costa dotted with black ; a moderately-broad ill-defined cloudy-white streak along inner margin from base to anal angle, pointed at extremities, interrupted at ​2⁄3 by a small spot of ground-colour ; a cloudy inwardly-oblique dark fuscous mark at ​1⁄3 from near costa to near inner margin: cilia ochreous-grey-whitish, round apex ochreous, with base white, a grey line, and three cloudy dark grey bars. Hindwings pale whitish-grey; cilia ochreous-grey-whitish.[3]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[1][7] This species has occurred in Taupo, Nelson, Marlborough Sounds, Mid Canterbury and Southland.[4] However it is likely extinct in the North Island.[4]

Behaviour and life cycle

Initially the larvae of this species are leaf miners but as they mature they mine the stems of their host plants, finally moving on to consuming the leaves and flowers.[6] They prepare for pupation by forming a white silk cocoon that is normally attached to the stem of their host plant.[6] This stage can last as little as ten days.[6] Adults emerge between the months of August and February.[6]

Host plants

The host plants of this species are native leafy mistletoe.[4][8] These include the species Ileostylus micranthus, Peraxilla colensoi and P. tetrapetala.[9][6]

Conservation status

This moth is classified under the New Zealand Threat Classification system as being "At Risk, Declining".[10] This is as a result of the decline of its host species brought about through the browsing of possums.[4]

References
  1. "Zelleria sphenota (Meyrick, 1889)". Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  2. Dugdale, J. S. (1988). "Lepidoptera-annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 14: 1–264 – via Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.
  3. Meyrick, Edward (1889). "Descriptions of New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 21: 154–188 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. Patrick, Brian; Dugdale, John S. (2000). Conservation status of the New Zealand lepidoptera (PDF). Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Conservation, New Zealand. p. 33. ISBN 978-0478218671. OCLC 154670803.
  5. Hudson, G. V. (1928). The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand. Wellington: Ferguson & Osborn Ltd. p. 321.
  6. New Zealand's loranthaceous mistletoes : proceedings of a workshop hosted by Threatened Species Unit, Department of Conservation, Cass, 17 -20 July 1995. De Lange, Peter J. and Norton, David A. (editors). Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Conservation. 1997. ISBN 978-0478019063. OCLC 154315406.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. 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. 465. ISBN 9781877257933. OCLC 973607714.
  8. Bach, Catherine E.; Kelly, Dave (2004). "Effects of forest edges on herbivory in a New Zealand mistletoe, Alepis flavida" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 28 (2): 195–205.
  9. Sullivan, Jon J.; Burrows, Colin J.; Dugdale, John S. (September 1995). "Insect predation of seeds of native New Zealand woody plants in some central South Island localities". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 33 (3): 355–364. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1995.10412962.
  10. 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.
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