''Orocrambus abditus'' 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 Crambidae. It was first described 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 ...

in 1924. It is endemic to

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 in

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

, Arthur's Pass, and in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. The species inhabits grassland including tussock grassland and shrubland. Larvae have been collected in October and the adults of this species are on the wing from October to March.

Taxonomy

''O. abditus'' was described by Alfred Philpott in 1924 using a specimen captive bred from a larva collected by Charles Lindsay in October at Otarama, in the Selwyn District. He originally named the species ''Crambus abditus''. George Hudson, in his 1928 book ''The butterflies and moths of New Zealand'', discussed and illustrated this species under that name. In 1975 D. E. Gaskin revised New Zealand Crambini and placed this species in the genus ''Orocrambus''.This placement was followed by John S. Dugdale in 1988 and in the New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. The female

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 ...

(the sex was wrongly recorded by Philpott) is held at the Canterbury Museum.

Description

Philpott described the female of the species as follows: The female species have forewings that are differently shaped than the male with the top part of the forewings being more acute. Both the male and the female of this species tend to be yellower than their closely related sister species but not consistently so. As a result this species can only be separated from ''O. simplex'', '' O. lewisi'', ''O. ordishi'', or ''O. crenaeus'' by studying the genitalia of the specimens.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. ''O. abditus'' has been recorded in

, Arthur's Pass, and in

in areas such as Porter's Pass, Kowhai River, Opuha, Gapes Valley , Birdling's Flat and Rakaia Island. Gaskin hypothesised that the distribution of this species may have come about as a result of ''O. abditus'' surviving in the eastern part of the Nelson/Marlborough during the Otiran glaciation. Gaskin suggested that the restriction in southernly spread of this species may be as a result of competition with its southerly sister species ''O.ordishi'' or alternatively as a result of an as yet unknown environmental factor.

Habitat

This species inhabits grassland including

tussock grassland Tussock grassland is a form of open grassland that is dominated by tussock grasses (also called bunchgrasses). It is common in some temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregions of the Southern Hemisphere. Tussock grasslands are usually ...

and shrubland.

Behaviour

Larvae have been collected in October. Adults have been recorded on wing from October to March. Gaskin hypothesised that the length of this flight period may suggest that this species has two broods in a year.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13857285 Crambinae Moths described in 1924 Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand