''Labdia anarithma'' 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 ...

of the family

Cosmopterigidae The Cosmopterigidae are a family of insects (cosmet moths) in the order Lepidoptera. These are small moths with narrow wings whose tiny larvae feed internally on the leaves, seeds and stems of their host plants. About 1500 species are described ...

. It was described by

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 March 1938, at Thornhanger, Marlborough) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern m ...

in 1888. It is found in

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and throughout Australia. Adults are on the wing from December to March and are day flying. They have been collected by sweeping

bracken fern Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells ...

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1889 and named ''Proterocosma anarithma''. In 1897 Meyrick placed this species within the genus ''Pyroderces''. This species was then placed in the genus ''Labdia'' in 1927 by A. Jefferis Turner. This placement was confirmed in 1996 in the Checklist of Australian Lepidoptera.Nielsen & Rangsi (1996
Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia
''Monogr. Aust. Lepid.'' 4: 103 The

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...

specimen, collected in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. Th ...

by Meyrick, 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 ...

Description

Meyrick first described this species as follows:

Distribution

This species is native to both New Zealand and Australia. In New Zealand this species has been observed in Taranaki, Napier. Palmerston North, Masterton, Wanganui and Wellington.

Behaviour

The adults of this species are on the wing from December until March and are day flying.

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a title conferr ...

stated he had collected them by sweeping

in the late afternoon.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6466848 Moths described in 1889 Labdia Moths of New Zealand Moths of Australia Taxa named by Edward Meyrick