''Pasiphila acompsa'' 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 ...

in the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''met ...

. It was described by

Louis Beethoven Prout Louis Beethoven Prout (1864–1943) was an English entomologist and musicologist. Prout specialised in the insect order of Lepidoptera, especially the Geometridae, or geometer moths, on which he was a foremost authority. His notebooks and publ ...

in 1927. 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 ...

and has been observed in mountainous locations in both the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

s. Larvae of this species have been reared on plants within the Veronica genus. Adults are on the wing from December to February.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1915 and named ''Chloroclystis modesta''. However the species name ''Chloroclystis acompsa'' was proposed by

as a replace name for the name given by Alfred Philpott which Prout regarded as being preoccupied by ''Chloroclystis modesta'' described by William Warren. In 1971 John S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus ''Pasiphila''. In 1988 John S. Dugdale discussed this species under the name ''Pasiphila acompsa'' and in 2010 Robert Hoare in the New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity followed this placement. The male

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 was collected at Bold Peak in the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

by Charles Cuthbert Fenwick and is now held at

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring f ...

Description

Philpott's description of this species is as follows: This species is similar in appearance to ''

Pasiphila dryas ''Pasiphila dryas'' is a moth in the family Geometridae. 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 ...

'' but it lacks the pink-brown shade of the latter species.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed on

Mount Taranaki Mount Taranaki (), also known as Mount Egmont, is a dormant stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is the second highest point in the North Island, after Mount Ruapehu. The mountain has a seco ...

and

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupō, within the Tongari ...

in the North Island and on Ben Lomond, Bold Peak and around

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori nam ...

, all in

in the South Island. ''P. acompsa'' has been observed at altitudes of between 3,000 and 4,000 feet.

Behaviour

Adults of this species are on the wing from December to February.

Hosts

Larvae of this species have been reared on plants within the Veronica genus.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13879051 Moths described in 1927 acompsa Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Louis Beethoven Prout Endemic moths of New Zealand