''Uresiphita polygonalis'' is a

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 Crambidae. The species was described by

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärding ...

and

Ignaz Schiffermüller Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt; died 21 June 1806 in Linz) was an Austrian naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera. Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna. His collection was presented ...

in 1775. It is found in the Pacific, including

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and

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 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Europe and northern and southern Africa. 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 27 mm. Adults range in color from green to red. Larval food plants are mainly

quinolizidine Quinolizidine (norlupinane, octahydro-2''H''-quinolizine) is a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound. Some alkaloids (e.g. cytisine and sparteine) are derivatives of quinolizidine. Quinolizidine alkaloids Quinolizidine alkaloids, such as ...

-bearing tribes of ''

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

'', ('' Ulex europaeus'', '' Genista'' sp., ''

Sarothamnus ''Cytisus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to open sites (typically scrub and heathland) in Europe, western Asia and North Africa. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and is one of several genera in the tribe G ...

'' sp., Sophoreae sp., ''

Sophora tomentosa Sophora tomentosa, also known as necklacepod, yellow necklacepod, and occasionally as silver bush, is a pantropical shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae. It commonly ranges in height from 4 to 10 feet and often occurs in coastal conditions ...

'', '' Carmichaeliae'' and '' Genisteae''). In Hawaii they have been recorded on '' Acacia koa'' and ''

Sophora chrysophylla ''Sophora chrysophylla'', known as ''māmane'' in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is highly polymorphic, growing as a shrub or tree, and able to reach a height of ...

''. They feed gregariously among webbed leaves.

Subspecies

*''Uresiphita polygonalis polygonalis'' *''Uresiphita polygonalis virescens'' (Butler, 1881) (Hawaii) *''Uresiphita polygonalis maorialis'' (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875) (New Zealand)

''Uresiphita polygonalis maorialis''

This subspecies is endemic to New Zealand where it is also known as the kowhai moth. It is sometimes referred to under the species name ''Uresiphita maorialis''. This subspecies occurs throughout New Zealand and its larvae feed on the endemic kowhai species as well as introduced tree lupin.

References

External links

Images''Uresiphita polygonalis maorialis'' info
Pyraustinae Moths described in 1775 Moths of Japan Moths of Réunion Insects of Turkey Moths of Africa Moths of New Zealand {{Pyraustinae-stub