''Stathmopoda albimaculata'' is a species of

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

in the

Stathmopodidae Stathmopodidae is a family of moths in the moth Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea described by Edward Meyrick in 1913. Taxonomy and systematics *''Actinoscelis'' Meyrick, 1912 *''Aeoloscelis'' Meyrick, 1897 *''Arauzona'' Walker,

865 __NOTOC__ Year 865 ( DCCCLXV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Louis the German divides the East Frankish Kingdom among his three sons. Carloman receives Bavaria (with more l ...

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family. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and is located in the lower half of the South Island. This species favours habitat that includes the various ''

Olearia ''Olearia'', most commonly known as daisy-bush, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae, the largest of the flowering plant families in the world. Olearia are found in Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand. The genus i ...

'' species that host its larvae. It has also been found to inhabit lowland

podocarp Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly southern hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pres ...

native forest. The larvae feed on species in the genus ''Olearia''. Adults are on the wing between the months of October and February. ''S. albimaculata'' is classified as Nationally Endangered by the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Taxonomy

''S. albimaculata'' 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in ...

in 1931. Philpott used a female moth collected by Charles E. Clarke at Woodside, Taieri in December. This

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

specimen is held at the

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

George Vernon Hudson George Vernon Hudson FRSNZ (20 April 1867 – 5 April 1946) was a British-born New Zealand entomologist credited with proposing the modern daylight saving time. He was awarded the Hector Memorial Medal in 1923. Biography Born in London, E ...

also used this specimen to describe and figure the species in his 1939 publication ''A supplement to the butterflies and moths of New Zealand''.

Description

Philpott described this species as follows:

Distribution

It is

. As well as being collected at Taieri, this species has also been found in central and western

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

The Catlins The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprise an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha, New Zealand, Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between ...

, Southland, and the

Waitaki Valley The Waitaki River is a large braided river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains the Mackenzie Basin and runs south-east to enter the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast. It starts at the confluence of the Ōhau an ...

Habitat and ecology

This species inhabits areas from 50m up to 900m in elevation. Along with habitat that includes the various ''Olearia'' species that host ''S. albimaculata'', this moth has also been found to inhabit lowland

/hardwood forest. Adult moths are on the wing between the months of October and February. They are most common in January and February.

Host plants

The species is associated with the nationally endangered plant '' Olearia hectorii,'' as well as ''

Olearia odorata ''Olearia odorata'', the scented tree daisy, is a small divaricating shrub endemic to New Zealand, from the plant family Asteraceae. It has small light green leaves with a large amount of interlacing twigs and grows to around 2–4m in height. ...

'' and ''

Olearia virgata ''Olearia'', most commonly known as daisy-bush, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae, the largest of the flowering plant families in the world. Olearia are found in Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand. The genus i ...

''.

Conservation status

''S. albimaculata'' has been 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 s ...

as being Nationally Endangered.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14382147 Moths described in 1931 Stathmopodidae Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endangered biota of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand Taxa named by Alfred Philpott