''Scoparia scripta'' 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 ...

and has been observed in the southern half of the South Island including in the Hunter Mountains and at

Otira Otira is a small township fifteen kilometres north of Arthur's Pass in the central South Island of New Zealand. It is on the northern approach to the pass, a saddle between the Otira and Bealey Rivers high in the Southern Alps. A possible meani ...

, Arthur's Pass and Mt Titiroa as well as in Deep Creek and Coronet Creek valleys near Coronet Peak. The species inhabits damp gullies. Adults are on the wing from January to March. Larvae feed on '' Epilobium'' species.

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 1918 using specimens he collected at Mount Burns in the Hunter Mountains in Fiordland at an elevation of around 3000 ft. 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.) ''scripta''. 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 New Zealand Arthropod Collection.

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 29–32 mm. The forewings are pale ochreous, sprinkled with fuscous and suffused with white on the costal half. There is a thick black basal streak from the costa and the first line is whitish, margined with fuscous posteriorly. The second line is whitish and preceded by a series of black dots. There is a series of roundish black dots on the termen. The hindwings are pale whitish-ochreous. Adults have been recorded on wing in January. ''S. scripta'' is similar in appearance to '' S. rotuella'' but can be distinguished from that species as ''S. scripta'' has disconnected

orbicular Orbicular is an adjective meaning "circular" Orbicular may also refer to: * Orbicular leaf, a plant leaf shape * Orbicularis oculi muscle, a muscle around the eye * Orbicularis oris muscle, a muscle around the mouth * Orbicular batfish, a specie ...

and

reniform Reniform is an adjective meaning "kidney-shaped" and may specifically refer to: * Reniform leaf The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single ...

. This species is also similar in appearance to ''S. clavata'' but can be distinguished as ''S. scripta'' has an acutely pointed basal streak. ''S. scripta'' also has a yellowish orange form.

Distribution

This specie is endemic to New Zealand. Other than at its type locality this species has also been observed at

, Arthur's Pass, Mt Titiroa as well as in Deep Creek and Coronet Creek valleys.

Behaviour

The adults of this species are on the wing in January to March. Adults have been observed basking on rocks and larvae have been seen on '' Epilobium'' species beside streams.

Habitat and host species

This species inhabits damp gullies. The caterpillars of this moth feed on '' Epilobium'' species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14324480 Moths described in 1918 Moths of New Zealand Scorparia Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand