''Asaphodes adonis'' (also known as the exquisite carpet moth) is a species of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

in the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metr ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. It is found in native forest at altitudes of between 300 and 1200 metres. Larvae have been reared on species of

Ranunculus ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed in Europe, ...

. Adults are on the wing in January and February.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by

George Vernon Hudson George Vernon Hudson FRSNZ (20 April 1867 – 5 April 1946) was a British-born New Zealand entomologist credited with proposing the modern daylight saving time. He was awarded the Hector Memorial Medal in 1923. Biography Born in London, Bri ...

in 1898 under the name ''Xanthorhoe adonis'' using specimens collected at Castle Hill or at the

Routeburn The Routeburn Track is a world-renowned, 32 km tramping (hiking) track found in the South Island of New Zealand. The track can be done in either direction, starting on the Queenstown side of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, at ...

. Hudson went on to discuss and illustrate this species in his book ''The butterflies and moths of New Zealand. ''In 1939

Louis Beethoven Prout Louis Beethoven Prout (1864–1943) was an English entomologist and musicologist. Prout specialised in the insect order of Lepidoptera, especially the Geometridae, or geometer moths, on which he was a foremost authority. His notebooks and publi ...

placed this species in the genus ''Larentia.'' This placement was not accepted by New Zealand taxonomists. In 1971

J. S. Dugdale ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

placed this species in the genus ''Asaphodes''. In 1988 Dugdale affirmed this placement in his catalogue of New Zealand Lepidoptera. The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

specimens have not been located at

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

. Dugdale presumed that the

syntype In biological nomenclature, a syntype is any one of two or more biological types that is listed in a description of a taxon where no holotype was designated. Precise definitions of this and related terms for types have been established as part of ...

series of specimens Hudson sent to Meyrick is held in the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum ...

.'' ''

Description

Hudson originally described this species as follows: ''A. adonis'' has vivid green forewings with dark coloured broad wavy lines edged with white which form a distinctive pattern. The dark coloured wavy lines can vary considerably in thickness. The hind wings are a pale orange shaded brown. This species can be distinguished from its close relative '' Asaphodes beata'' by the colour of its hind wings.

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the South Island only. It is regarded as uncommon and is found in native forest in the South Island at altitudes of between 300 and 1200 metres. ''A. adonis'' have been observed at Castle Hill and

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake ( finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori ...

, Lake Harris track, Bold Peak in

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, Mt Aspiring Station, and in the Te Anau Ecological District.

Behaviour

Adults of this species are on the wing in January and February. It can be found during the day resting on tree trunks, camouflaged against similar coloured lichen growth.

Host plant

Larvae of ''A. adonis'' have been reared on species of ''

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28739815 Moths described in 1898 Moths of New Zealand Larentiinae Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by George Hudson Endemic moths of New Zealand