''Aponotoreas synclinalis'' (also known as the Wirerush looper) is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metro ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Taxonomy

This species was first described by George Vernon Hudson in 1903 as ''Notoreas synclinalis'' from a type specimen discovered by Alfred Philpott at Seaward Moss near

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

on 4 January 1900. In 1986 R. C. Craw described the new genus '' Aponotoreas'' and included ''A. synclinalis'' within it.

Distribution

This moth is common in upland areas of

the Catlins The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southla ...

Longwood Range The Longwood Range is a range of hills to the west of the Southland Plains, Southland, New Zealand. From the 1860s until the 1950s gold mining was prevalent in the Longwood Ranges. There are many small towns and localities situated around the per ...

and Stewart Island. It is also present in south-west

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lake ...

. It is unusual as it is only one of two species in its genus where specimens have been collected at sea level.

Behaviour

This species is day flying and is on the wing from January until March.

Host plants

The host plant of the larvae of ''A. synclinalis'' is ''

Empodisma minus ''Empodisma minus'', commonly known as (lesser) wire rush or spreading rope-rush, is a perennial evergreen belonging to the southern-hemisphere family of monocotyledons called the Restionaceae. The Latin name ''Empodisma minus'' translates to “ ...

,'' the lesser wire rush, and in alpine areas of Stewart Island is '' Dracophyllum politum.''

References

External links

Citizen science observations of species

Specimens held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum
Moths of New Zealand Hydriomenini Moths described in 1903 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Larentiinae-stub