Sabatinca lucilia

This species was described by Charles Edwin Clarke in 1920 using a specimen collected via electric light at Waitomo Hotel and another collected at Kauri Gully in Auckland.[2] The latter specimen was designated by George Gibbs as the lectotype specimen and is held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.[3][2]

S. lucilia, illustrated by George Hudson

Hindwing venation of Sabatinca lucilia

Clarke described the species as follows:

12 mm. Head, face, and palpi covered with long bronze-brown hair. Antennae purplish tending to brown at tips. Thorax brown, densely covered with long brown hair. Abdomen grey-blackish along sides. Legs ochreous tinged with grey-blackish. Forewings ovate-lanceolate, costa bent abruptly near base, arched, apex less acute than in incongruella; basal area to nearly 1⁄3 ochreous suffused with ruby banded by abrupt black transverse line; an ochreous-grey band slightly suffused with ruby reaching to nearly 1⁄2, widening on dorsum; a dark fascia bordered blackish-grey, constricted both sides at middle and narrowed on anal margin; at 2⁄3 another light grey band slightly tinged with orange but broken in centre by longitudinal blackish stripe; a transverse blackish-bordered ochreus band, beyond which to apex light grey slightly tinged with orange; cilia ochreous with dark-greyish-brown bars in continuation of the dark markings on the wings. Hindwings dark grey suffused with violet, brighter towards apex; cilia dark grey with a few orange hairs.[2]

In 1923 Alfred Philpott studied the wing venation of species within the Sabatinca genus and split the species in the genus into three groups.[4] One of the groups contained S. lucilia and S. calliarcha.[4]

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[1] This species is found in the top half of the North Island.[2]

The adults of this species are on the wing from the end of November until the beginning of March.[2]

The larvae of this species likely feed on foliose liverwort species with the adults likely feeding on fern spores or sedge pollen.[2] Adults have been found on a sunny moss-covered clay bank.[2] The species can be found in multiple forest types such as kauri, kanuka and Nothofagus and prefers to inhabit damp fern covered banks.