''Ichneutica hartii'' 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

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

and can be found only in the North Island. ''I. hartii'' is similar in appearance to ''Ichneutica agrorastis'' but can be distinguished as it tends to be smaller in size and have a more purplish shade to its fore wings. ''I. hartii'' tends to be found inhabiting lowland native forest or forests found in the hilly ranges of the North Island. It is attracted to light and the adults of this moth are on the wing between January and March. Much of its life history is currently unknown as are the larvae host species.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by W. G. Howes in 1914 from a single male specimen obtained by Mr S. Hart near

Cape Egmont Lighthouse Cape Egmont Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Cape Egmont in the Taranaki Region of the North Island of New Zealand.

. This

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

species is held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. In 1988 J. S. Dugdale placed this species within the ''Tmetolophota'' genus. In 2019 Robert Hoare undertook a major review of New Zealand Noctuidae species. During this review the genus ''Ichneutica'' was greatly expanded and the genus ''Tmetolophota'' was subsumed into that genus as a synonym. As a result of this review, this species is now known as ''Ichneutica hartii.''

Description

Howes described this species as follows ''I. hartii'' is closely related to '' I. agorastis'' and as such is very similar in appearance. ''I.hartii'' can be distinguished from ''I. agorastis'' as the former has a smaller wingspan with an apporximate size of 33 mm. However in the central North Island some specimens are of a larger size than this norm. ''I. hartii'' also has a more purplish shade to its forewings in comparison to the reddish shade of ''I. agorastis''.

Distribution

It is endemic to New Zealand and is widespread in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

Habitat

This species can be found in lowland native forest as well as in hill ranges up to approximately 800m in altitude.

Behaviour

Adults of this species are on the wing from January to March. This species is attracted to light.

Life history and host species

The life history of this species is unknown as are the host species of its larvae.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q104081516, from2=Q13624173 Moths described in 1914 Moths of New Zealand Hadeninae Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by George Howes (entomologist) Endemic moths of New Zealand