''Scoparia pascoella'' 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 ...

Taxonomy

This species was described by

Alfred Philpott Alfred Philpott (15 December 1870 – 24 July 1930) was a New Zealand museum curator, entomologist and writer. He was born in Tysoe, Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The ...

in 1920. However the placement of this species within the genus ''Scoparia'' is in doubt. As a result, this species has also been referred to as ''Scoparia'' (s.l.) ''pascoella''.

Etymology

The species is named in honour of

Merlin Owen Pasco Merlin Owen Pasco (1892 – 6 August 1918) was a New Zealand Entomology, entomologist. Pasco discovered several species of moth previously unknown to science and collected numerous specimens. Early life and collecting Pasco was born in Kumara ...

, a New Zealand entomologist who died in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the First World War.

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 15–18 mm. The forewings are ferruginous-brown mingled with some fuscous and much suffused with white. The first line is white, margined with ferruginous posteriorly. The second line is also white, margined with ferruginous anteriorly. The hindwings are grey-fuscous, but paler anteriorly. Adults have been recorded on wing in December.

References

Moths described in 1920 Moths of New Zealand Scorparia Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Scopariinae-stub