Elachista gerasmia

Elachista gerasmia is a species of moth of the family Elachistidae that is found in New Zealand and south eastern Australia.[1][2]

Elachista gerasmia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Elachistidae
Genus: Elachista
Species:
E. gerasmia
Binomial name
Elachista gerasmia
Meyrick, 1889
Synonyms
  • Elachista egena Turner, 1923

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1889 from specimens collected in Hamilton, Makatoku in Hawkes Bay and in Invercargill.[3] The male lectotype, collected in Hamilton, is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[1]

Description

The wingspan is 9–14 mm. The forewings are light grey or sometimes grey-whitish. There is a black dot on the fold in the middle, and an elongate black dot in the disc at two-thirds. The hindwings are grey.[3]

Distribution

This species is found in both the North and South Islands of New Zealand as well as in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania.[4]

Hosts and habitat

Elachista gerasmia inhabits damp swampy habitat.[3] The larvae of this species are leaf miners.[5] Larval hosts include plant species in the genus Juncus including Juncus australis, Juncus pallidus and Juncus usitatus.[4]

References
Wikispecies has information related to Elachista gerasmia.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elachista gerasmia.
  1. John Stewart Dugdale (23 September 1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa". Fauna of New Zealand. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 14: 112. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN 0111-5383. Wikidata Q45083134.
  2. Kaila, Lauri (2011). "Elachistine moths of Australia : (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea: Elachistidae)". Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. 11: 147. ISBN 9780643103054. OCLC 694145362.
  3. Edward Meyrick (May 1889). "Descriptions of New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 21: 177. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q56065895.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. "Elachista gerasmia". lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  5. "Elachista gerasmia Meyrick, 1889". plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.