Wiseana cervinata

Wiseana cervinata, a porina moth, is a species of moth belonging to the family Hepialidae.[2] It was described by Francis Walker in 1865 and is endemic to New Zealand.

Wiseana cervinata
Female specimen
Male specimen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hepialidae
Genus: Wiseana
Species:
W. cervinata
Binomial name
Wiseana cervinata
(Walker, 1865)[1]
Synonyms
  • Elhamma cervinata Walker, 1865
  • Hepialus despectus Walker, 1865
  • Porina vexata Walker, 1865
  • Pielus variolaris Guenee, 1868

The wingspan is 34–38 mm for males and 44–55 mm for females. The colour of the forewings varies from pale tan to blackened. Adults are on wing from September to March.[2]

The larvae feed on Trifolium species and various grasses. The interactions of this species with the Māori food crop kūmara has also been investigated, indicating that this species may have fed on kūmara in traditional kūmara gardens.[3]

References

  1. Nielsen, Ebbe S.; Robinson, Gaden S.; Wagner, David L. (2000). "Ghost-moths of the world: a global inventory and bibliography of the Exoporia (Mnesarchaeoidea and Hepialoidea) (Lepidoptera )" (PDF). Journal of Natural History. 34 (6): 823–878. doi:10.1080/002229300299282. S2CID 86004391.
  2. John Stewart Dugdale (1 March 1994). "Hepialidae (Insecta: Lepidoptera)" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. 30. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.30. ISSN 0111-5383. OCLC 30833000. Wikidata Q44987707. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2019.
  3. H. Ehau-Taumaunu; S. D. G. Marshall; C. M. Ferguson; M. Mark-Shadbolt; R. M. MacDiarmid; M. O’Callaghan (9 March 2020). "The feeding habits of Wiseana (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) species on a traditional Māori food crop". New Zealand Entomologist. 43 (1): 23–32. doi:10.1080/00779962.2020.1729934. ISSN 0077-9962. Wikidata Q104800558.



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