''Cadmogenes'' is a genus of

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 ...

s of the family

Plutellidae The Plutellidae are a family of moths commonly known as the diamondback moths, named after the diamondback moth (''Plutella xylostella'') of European origin. It was once considered to have three subfamilies: Plutellinae, Praydinae, and Scythropi ...

. It contains only one species, ''Cadmogenes literata'', which is found in

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 ...

. This species 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 elsew ...

. It has been classified as "Not Threatened" by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Cadmogenes'' was described in the family

, but is considered an enigmatic unplaced genus (along with the genus '' Titanomis'') and may require its own family. ''Cadmogenes literata'' was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1923 using specimens collected at

Silverstream Silverstream is a suburb of Upper Hutt in New Zealand, just under 7 km south-west of the Upper Hutt CBD. It is in the lower (southern) part of the North Island of New Zealand at the southern end of Upper Hutt, close to the Taitā Gorge, ...

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in January. George Hudson described and illustrated this species in his 1928 book ''The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand''. The lectotype specimen was collected at Kauri Gully, Birkenhead, Auckland by George Hudson and is held at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

Description

Meyrick described the species as follows: The

wing venation Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to flight, fly. They are found on the second and third Thorax (insect anatomy), thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referre ...

of the adult moth differs depending on whether the larvae is reared from '' Weinmannia'' or ''

Caldcluvia ''Caldcluvia'' is a monotypic genus in the family Cunoniaceae with the only species ''Caldcluvia paniculata'', known as tiaca, an evergreen tree native to Chile. It is found from Ñuble to Aisén (36 to 45°S). Most species that were previousl ...

'' inflorescences.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. ''C. literata'' occurs in the Northland, Auckland, Taupo,

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

areas.

Host species and biology

The larvae feed on the flowers of ''Caldcluvia'' and ''Weinmannia'' species. There is one generation per year. The type locality of Kauri Gully now has few ''Weinmannia'' trees but these are abundant at Silverstream.

Conservation status

This species has been classified as having the "Not Threatened" conservation status under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17460788, from2=Q13447286 Moths described in 1923 Plutellidae Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Endemic moths of New Zealand