''Zelleria sphenota'' 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 Yponomeutidae. This species 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 ...

. It is classified as "At Risk, Declining'" by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1889 and named ''Hofmannia sphenota''. Meyrick used a specimen he collected from

Riccarton Bush Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch. It is due west of the city centre, separated from it by Hagley Park. Upper Riccarton is to the west of Riccarton. History On 12 April 1840, the ship ''Sarah and Elizabeth'' landed Herriot, McGillivray, ...

in August. George Hudson discussed the species in his 1928 book ''The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand'' using the name ''Zelleria sphenota''. The

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 of this species is held at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

. The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

level classification of this moth is currently regarded as unsatisfactory. As such the species is also known as ''Zelleria'' (''

s.l. SL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * SL (rapper), a rapper from London * ''Second Life'', a multi-user 3D virtual world * Sensei's Library, an Internet site dedicated to the game of Go * Subdominant leittonwechselklänge * Leica SL, a mirror ...

'') ''sphenota''.

Description

The larvae of this species are green in colour. Meyrick described the male adult of the species as follows:

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. This species has occurred in Taupō, Nelson, Marlborough Sounds,

Mid Canterbury Mid Canterbury (also spelt Mid-Canterbury and mid-Canterbury) is a traditional, semi-official subregion of New Zealand's Canterbury Region extending inland from the Pacific coast to the Southern Alps. It is one of four traditional sub-regions of C ...

and Southland. However it is likely extinct in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

Behaviour and life cycle

Initially the larvae of this species are leaf miners but as they mature they mine the stems of their host plants, finally moving on to consuming the leaves and flowers. They prepare for pupation by forming a white silk cocoon that is normally attached to the stem of their host plant. This stage can last as little as ten days. Adults emerge between the months of August and February.

Host plants

The host plants of this species are native leafy

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. ...

.'''' These include the species ''

Ileostylus micranthus ''Ileostylus micranthus'', commonly known as green mistletoe pikirangi; pirinoa; pirirangi; pirita; small-flowered mistletoe, is a species of mistletoe in the family Loranthaceae. Description ''Ileostylus micranthus'' is a mistletoe native to ...

Peraxilla colensoi ''Peraxilla colensoi'', the scarlet mistletoe, is a shrubby parasitic plant composed of broad, leathery leaves that grow up to 8 cm long and have a red edge. The common name is derived from the scarlet petals of the plant that bloom every Octob ...

'' and'' P. tetrapetala.''

Conservation status

This moth is classified under the

New Zealand Threat Classification system The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...

as being "At Risk, Declining". This is as a result of the decline of its host species brought about through the browsing of possums.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2676316 Moths described in 1889 Moths of New Zealand Yponomeutidae Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endangered biota of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Endemic moths of New Zealand