''Scopula rubraria'' 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 ...

of the family Geometridae. It is native to both

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

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Doubleday in 1843 and originally named ''Ptychopoda rubraria''.

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 .

Distribution

It is found throughout New Zealand and in the coastal regions of south eastern Australia and throughout Tasmania.

Host species

The larvae feed on ''

Plantago lanceolata ''Plantago lanceolata'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is known by the common names ribwort plantain, narrowleaf plantain, English plantain, ribleaf, lamb's tongue, and buckhorn. It is a common weed on c ...

''. Larvae have also been raised on '' Medicago sativa'' and on the New Zealand endemic ''plantain Plantago spathulata.''

References

rubraria Moths of Australia Moths described in 1843 Moths of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Doubleday {{Scopula-stub