''Pasiphila charybdis'' 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

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 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 first described by

Arthur Gardiner Butler Arthur Gardiner Butler F.L.S., F.Z.S. (27 June 1844 – 28 May 1925) was an English entomologist, arachnologist and ornithologist. He worked at the British Museum on the taxonomy of birds, insects, and spiders. Biography Arthur Gardiner Butl ...

in 1879 and named ''Helastia charybdis'' using specimens collected by F. W. Hutton in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. In 1879, thinking he was describing a new species, Butler also named this species ''Helastia calida''.

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 ...

, also thinking he was describing a new species, named it ''Chloroclystis antarctica'' in 1898. In 1917 Meyrick placed this species within the genus ''Chloroclystis'' and synonymised ''Helastia calida'' with it. Hudson discussed Chloroclystis charybdis in his 1928 book ''The butterflies and moths of New Zealand'' but said he was unacquainted with the species. In 1971 John S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus ''Pasiphila''. Dugdale confirmed this placement in 1988 and synonymised ''C. antarctica'' with ''P. charydbis''. 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 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

Hudson described the larvae of this species as follows: Butler described the adults of this species as follows: When discussing this species Dugdale stated:

Habitat and hosts

The larval hosts of this species are plants in the genus '' Veronica''. Larvae have been successfully raised on Hebe

Life cycle

The pupa of this species can be found enfolded with silk between two leaves of its larval host. The adults of this species are on the wing from December.

References

Moths described in 1879

charybdis Charybdis (; grc, Χάρυβδις, Khárybdis, ; la, Charybdis, ) is a sea monster in Greek mythology. She, with the sea monster Scylla, appears as a challenge to epic characters such as Odysseus, Jason, and Aeneas. Scholarship locates her in t ...

Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Arthur Gardiner Butler Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Eupitheciini-stub