Sabatinca aemula facts for kids

Sabatinca aemula is a species of moth belonging to the family Micropterigidae. It was described by Alfred Philpott in 1924. It is known from the Mount Arthur tableland in New Zealand. The larvae of this species feed on foliose liverworts.

Adults were found in December among rough herbage and undergrowth at a damp spot on the edge of the forest.

Original description

Wingspan 11–12 millimetres (0.43–0.47 in). Head and thorax reddish-ochreous. Palpi ochreous. Antennae dark fuscous, basal fifth (in female basal third) ochreous. Abdomen greyish-fuscous. Legs ochreous, last tarsal segments fuscous. Forewings ovate-lanceolate, costa strongly arched basally, apex acute, termen very oblique, slightly sinuate; shining ochreous, darker on apical half and above dorsum at base; a silvery-white fascia from costa at middle; irregular and variable in shape, sometimes spot-like, sometimes reaching middle of wing where it touches an irregular black spot; a similar but usually broader fascia at 3/4, also connecting with a black (generally transverse) spot; sometimes a silvery-white dot or dots between second fascia and apex; a series of silvery-white spots round termen: fringes reddish-ochreous with a very obscure dark basal line. Hindwings fuscous-violet: fringes, fuscous on basal half of dorsum, ochreous with a fuscous basal line on remainder of wing.

Images for kids

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  Sabatinca aemula by George Hudson