Austramathes pessota facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Austramathes pessota |
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Austramathes pessota is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. It is endemic to New Zealand.
Taxonomy
A. pessota was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1887 under the name Miselia pessota. In 1906 this species was tentatively placed in the genus Sympistis by George Hampson. Meyrick, in 1911, disagreed with this placement but somewhat doubtfully suggested placing the species in the genus Hypnotype. Meyrick again reconsidered the taxonomy of this species in 1914 and placed it within the genus Andesia. Robert J. B. Hoare studied the species and placed it within the genus Austramathes in 2017.
Description
George Hudson described the species as follows:
The expansion of the wings is 1 inch. The fore-wings are dull purplish-brown; there is an oblong black mark at the base of the dorsum containing a slender curved white line; the orbicular is rather small, round, margined first with dull white and then with black; the reniform is large, oblong, dull white, margined with pale ochreous towards the base of the wing; there is a conspicuous oblong black mark between the orbicular and reniform stigmata. The hind-wings are dull grey, with the cilia paler.
Distribution
A. pessota can be found in Northland, in the southern North Island and in the South Island, mainly on the eastern side that island.
Host species
Larvae of this species feed on Melicytus alpinus and Hoare states it is likely that Melicytus micranthus is also a host.
Images for kids
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Melicytus alpinus a larval host of A. pessota.
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