Sagephora jocularis

This species was first described by Alfred Philpott using a specimen collected at Tisbury in Southland and named Sagephora jocularis.[3][4] In 1928 George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species.[5] The male holotype specimen is held in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection.[4]

Illustration of S. jocularis by George Hudson.

Philpott described this species as follows:

♂. 9 mm. Head white tinged with brown. Palpi fuscous, apex of second segment and terminal segment white. Antennae ochreous, annulated with fuscous. Thorax fuscous, a lateral stripe and tegulae whitish-ochreous. Abdomen fuscous. Legs greyish-fuscous. Forewings elongate, costa moderately arched, apex rounded, termen very oblique; ochreous mixed with white; a broad, fuscous-brown stripe along costa from base to 4⁄5, strongly dilated on its apical half where it is margined beneath with white; a fuscous-brown stripe on dorsum from base to 1⁄2 beyond this to tornus the fuscous is mixed with ochreous-white; apical fourth chiefly fuscous-brown but with some mixture of ochreous and white; a thin ochreous and white line along termen: fringes greyish-fuscous with interrupted black basal line. Hindwings and fringes greyish-fuscous.[3]

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[2][1] Specimens have been collected at the type locality of Tisbury, as well as Purau and Dyer's Pass in Canterbury.[3][6]

This species is on the wing in January and October.[3]