''Sabatinca weheka'' 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 ...

belonging to the family

Micropterigidae Micropterigoidea is the superfamily of "mandibulate archaic moths", all placed in the single family Micropterigidae, containing currently about twenty living genera. They are considered the most primitive extant lineage of lepidoptera (Kristense ...

. 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 ...

where it can be found near

Lake Matheson Lake Matheson ( mi, Te Ara Kairaumati) is a small glacial lake in South Westland, New Zealand, near the township of Fox Glacier. It was a traditional food-gathering place for local Māori. An easy walking track circles the lake, which is famous ...

and also on Secretary Island. This species is very similar in appearance to '' S. heighwayi'' in both their larval and adult forms but the adults of ''S. weheka'' differ as they are darker and more strongly marked on the forewings and have a dark brownish base colour to their wings. This species is on the wing from the middle to the end of October and lives in forest with a high rainfall. The larval host species is the liverwort ''

Plagiochila deltoidea ''Plagiochila deltoidea'' is a species of liverwort in the family Plagiochilaceae. It was first described by Lindenb. It is found in New Zealand and Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = T ...

.''

Taxonomy

This species was first described by George Gibbs in 2014 using specimens collected at

by Gibbs. 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 in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection. This species is very similar in appearance to ''S. heighwayi'' however its morphology is distinctive and this distinction has been confirmed by gene sequencing.

Description

The larvae of this species is very similar in appearance to the larvae of ''S. heighwayi'' which are a pale yellowish-green colour. Gibbs described the adults of this species as follows: The adults of this species differ from ''S. heighwayi'' as they have darker, more strongly marked appearance to their forewings with a dark brownish base colour.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand and is known from

in Westland and also Grono Spur on Secretary Island in Fiordland.

Life cycle

This species overwinters in its pupa state and emerges in October. This species is on the wing only from the middle to the end of October. The larvae mature until January when they pupate.

Host plants and habitat

This species inhabits forest with a high rainfall. The larval host species is the liverwort ''

'' which, as a result of the high rainfall in the localities where ''S. weheka'' is found, can grow up the trunks of trees.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21349054 Micropterigidae Moths described in 2014 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Moths of New Zealand Taxa named by George Gibbs Endemic moths of New Zealand