Stigmella progama facts for kids

Stigmella progama is a species of moth in the family Nepticulidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is classified as "Data Deficient" by the Department of Conservation. S. progama has only been collected on Bold Peak in Otago.

Taxonomy

This species was described by Edward Meyrick in 1924 using a female specimen collected by George Hudson at Bold Peak in the Humboldt Mountains. Meyrick named the species Nepticula progama. Hudson discussed and illustrated the species under that name in his 1928 publication The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand. In 1988 John S. Dugdale assigned this species to the genus Stigmella. The holotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.

Description

Meyrick described this species as follows:

♀. 5 mm. Head white, occipital hairs yellowish. Thorax white, dorsally irrorated blackish and grey. Forewings white; basal fourth irrorated grey and blackish; irregular pale-grey costal and dorsal blotches irrorated blackish beyond middle, meeting in disc; an apical greyish blotch irrorated blackish, leaving apex itself whitish: cilia whitish-grey, round apex whitish, basal half sprinkled blackish. Hindwings and cilia grey.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. It has only been found in its type locality in the Humboldt Mountains in Otago at approximately 1200 m. above sea-level.

Biology and behaviour

Adults of this species are on the wing in January. The male of the species has yet to be collected.

Conservation status

This species has been classified as having the "Data Deficient" conservation status under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.