''Scoparia animosa'' is a species

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 The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...

. This species 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 ...

Taxonomy

''S. animosa'' was described by

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 March 1938, at Thornhanger, Marlborough) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern micr ...

in 1914. However the placement of this species within the Scoparia genus is in doubt. As a result, this species has been referred to as ''Scoparia (s.l.) animosa''.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is about 15 mm. The forewings are bronzy-brown with scattered black scales. The dorsal two-thirds is suffused with black from the base to the first line. This first line is white, edged with black posteriorly. The second line is white, edged with some black scales anteriorly. The subterminal line is white and the space between this and the second line is marked with suffused black streaks on the veins. There is a row of small black spots round the apex and termen. The hindwings are grey-whitish, but greyer towards the termen. Adults have been recorded on wing in December.

References

Moths described in 1914 Moths of New Zealand Scorparia Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Scopariinae-stub