''Orocrambus jansoni'' 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 Crambidae. 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 ...

. This species is classified as "At Risk, Naturally Uncommon" 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

This species was described by David Edward Gaskin in 1975 using a specimen he collected at Waiouru. The

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 ...

specimen is held at the New Zealand Arthropod Collection.

Description

Gaskin described the species as follows:

Distribution

This species is

. It has been recorded from the central part of 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 ...

, east of Mount Ruapehu.

Biology and behaviour

''O. jansoni'' are active during the day. Adults have been recorded on the wing from December to February. The female of the species is a more reluctant flier than the male. The species has been trapped with ultra-violet light as well as mercury vapour lamp traps. It has also been collected by netting or sweeping likely grasses.

Host species and habitat

The host species of this moth is unconfirmed but it has been hypothesised that it is likely '' Rytidosperma pulchrum'' as females of the species have been discovered at the base of this plant. ''O. jansoni'' is known to inhabit roadside grasslands along the

Desert Road Te Onetapu, commonly known as the Rangipo Desert, is a barren desert-like environment in New Zealand, located in the Ruapehu District on the North Island Volcanic Plateau; to the east of the three active peaks of Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe ...

north of Waiouru, and has also been collected at the Rangitaiki Frost Flats. It is likely that it also inhabits

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...

land around Waiouru. It prefers open grassland habitat.

Conservation status

This species has been classified as having the "At Risk, Naturally Uncommon" 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

Crambinae Moths described in 1975 Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endangered biota of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Crambinae-stub