''Heterocrossa iophaea'' is a species 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 ...

in the family

Carposinidae Carposinidae, the "fruitworm moths", is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera. These moths are narrower winged than Copromorphidae, with less rounded forewing tips. Males often have conspicuous patches of scales on either surface (Dugdale ...

. 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 elsew ...

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 described by

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 March 1938, at Thornhanger, Marlborough) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern micr ...

in 1907 using material collected by

Alfred Philpott Alfred Philpott (15 December 1870 – 24 July 1930) was a New Zealand museum curator, entomologist and writer. He was born in Tysoe, Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The ...

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 ...

. In 1922 Meyrick classified ''Heterocrossa'' as a synonym of the genus ''Carposina''.

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a title conferr ...

discussed and illustrated this species under the name ''Carposina iophaea'' in his 1928 publication ''The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand.'' In 1978

Elwood Zimmerman Elwood Curtin Zimmerman (December 8, 1912 – June 18, 2004) was an American entomologist best known for his two multivolume series: ''Insects of Hawaii'' published by the University of Hawaii Press and ''Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curcul ...

argued that the genus ''Heterocrassa'' should not be a synonym of ''Carposina'' as the genitalia of the species within the genus ''Heterocrassa'' are distinctive. In 1988 John S. Dugdale assigned the species back to the genus ''Heterocrossa''. He also synonymised ''Heterocrossa thalamota'' with ''Heterocrossa iophaea''. The

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

specimen 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

This species was described by Meyrick as follows:

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. As well as the type locality of Invercargill, this species has also occurred in Wyndham, in the

Peel Forest Peel Forest is a small community in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It is located near the Peel Forest Park Scenic Reserve and about north of Geraldine. The town features a Cafe & Bar, a camping ground and an outdoor recreation facility. ...

in Canterbury, Waiho Gorge in

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila, ...

, and

Puhi Puhi Puhi (literally, "blow" in Hawaiian) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 3,380 at the 2020 census, up from 1,186 at the 2000 census. Geography Puhi is located on the southeastern side ...

in Marlborough. Specimens have also been collected in the North Island in locations such as at

Whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exper ...

, Whangarei,

Hawkes Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

, Waimarino in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

region and Price's Bush in the

Tararua Range The Tararua Range, often referred to as the Tararua Ranges or Tararua, is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand. The Tararua Range runs northeast–southwest for from near Palmerston North to the upper reaches of ...

Biology and behaviour

This species is on the wing between October and February. The adult moths rest on the trunks of trees or alternatively hide among the twigs and leaves on the ground. The manner in which the adult moth folds its wings assists it in finding hiding places. The adult moths are attracted to light. They have also been collected through the beating of bush.

Habitat and host species

This species is found in native forest habitat. The larvae feed on the immature seeds of the mataī tree, ''

Prumnopitys taxifolia ''Prumnopitys taxifolia'', the mataī ( mi, mataī) or black pine, is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island/Rakiura (47 °S) but is uncommon there. It grows up ...

''. As the seeds mature the larvae switch to eating the sugar-rich outer wall tissues of the seed before pupating.

References

External links

Image of lectotype specimen
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q13936410, from2=Q5045905 Carposinidae Moths of New Zealand Moths described in 1907 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Endemic moths of New Zealand