''Scoparia pura'' 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

It 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 1924. 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.) ''pura''.

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 21–22 mm. The forewings are grey, suffused with white on the basal area and beneath the costa. There is an interrupted blackish line at the base and the first line is indicated by a brownish-black posterior margin. The second line is white, margined by black anteriorly. There is a marginal series of black dots, preceded by an obscure white shade. The hindwings are greyish-fuscous, but darker apically. Adults have been recorded on wing in January.

References

Moths described in 1924 Moths of New Zealand Scorparia Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Scopariinae-stub