Eutorna caryochroa

Eutorna caryochroa is a species of moth in the family Depressariidae. It was described by Edward Meyrick in 1889 and is endemic to New Zealand. This species is found in both the North and South Islands. The larvae of this species are leaf miners and prefer damp grassland habitat. The adults are on the wing in December and January. They are day flying moths, they frequent forest and scrub, and have a habit of basking on leaves in the sunshine. They have been collected by beating shrubbery.

Eutorna caryochroa
Illustration of female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Depressariidae
Genus: Eutorna
Species:
E. caryochroa
Binomial name
Eutorna caryochroa
Meyrick, 1889

Taxonomy

E. caryochroa was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1889 using specimens collected at Castle Hill, Lake Wakatipu, Dunedin and Invercargill. The male lectotype specimen, held at the Natural History Museum, London, was collected in reserve bush and forest in Dunedin.[1]

Description
Male lectotype of Eutorna caryochroa

The wingspan is 11–12 mm. The forewings are rather dark ferruginous brown with an upwards-curved yellowish-white streak from the middle of the base to two-thirds of the disc, margined beneath with blackish, above with bright yellow ochreous, which extends to the costa towards the base. There is a slender white oblique streak from two-thirds of the costa to the middle of the disc, margining a triangular costal suffused patch of purplish-grey and whitish scales, beneath which is sometimes a longitudinal blackish suffusion. A black dot is found in the disc at two-thirds, surrounded by a yellowish-white ring. There are some purplish-grey scales towards the posterior half of the inner margin and a small white spot on the costa at four-fifths, beyond which is a blackish suffusion. There is also an obscure irregular whitish streak along the hindmargin, followed by some black scales. The hindwings are rather dark bronzy fuscous.[2]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[3][4] It has been observed in the North Island in the Central Plateau, Napier, as well as in Wellington and also at Ōtira River, Castle Hill, Lake Wakatipu, Dunedin and Invercargill in the South Island.[5][6] George Hudson regarded this species as being rare in the Wellington region and T. H. Davis held the same view for populations of this moth in Napier .[5][6]

Behaviour

The adults of this species are on the wing in December and January.[5] It is a day flying moth and frequents forest and scrub habitat. It has been observed basking on leaves in full sun and Hudson hypothesises that it may have an attraction to totara.[5] It has been collected by beating shrubbery.[6]

Habitat and hosts

E. caryochroa larvae are leaf miners and favour low growing plants in damp or estuary grassland habitat.[7]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eutorna caryochroa.
  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: 87. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN 0111-5383. Wikidata Q45083134.
  2. Edward Meyrick (May 1889). "Descriptions of New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 21: 158. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q56065895. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia : chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 458. ISBN 978-1-877257-93-3. OCLC 973607714. OL 25288394M. Wikidata Q45922947.
  4. "Eutorna caryochroa Meyrick, 1889". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  5. George Vernon Hudson (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington, p. 295, LCCN 88133764, OCLC 25449322, Wikidata Q58593286{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. T. H. Davies (January 1973). "LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA COLLECTED IN AREAS SURROUNDING HASTINGS AND NAPIER" (PDF). New Zealand Entomologist. 5 (2): 204–216. doi:10.1080/00779962.1973.9723002. ISSN 0077-9962. Wikidata Q54755566. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2013.
  7. J.G. Charles; J.S. Dugdale; V. White (October 1987). "Preliminary studies of Eutorna phaulocosma (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae) in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 14 (4): 519–526. doi:10.1080/03014223.1987.10423024. ISSN 0301-4223. Wikidata Q111909221.
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