''Asaphodes cataphracta'', also known as the western brown carpet moth, is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

in the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyleti ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and is found in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. This species prefers grassy or tussock covered mountain side slopes as habitat. The adults of this species are on the wing from December until March. The larvae of ''A. cataphracta'' is known to consume native mountain buttercups (''

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (, buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family (biology), family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 spec ...

'').

Taxonomy

This species was first described by

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854 – 31 March 1938) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern microlepidoptera systematics. Life and work Ed ...

in 1883 as ''Larentia cataphracta'' using specimens collected at Arthur's Pass at 3,000 feet, Lake Guyon, and Lake Wakatipu at 4,000 feet. Meyrick gave a fuller description of the species later in 1884.

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the Railway Mania, railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a ...

discussed the species in his 1898 volume ''New Zealand moths and butterflies'' and referred to it as ''Xanthorhoe cataphracta''. In 1971

John S. Dugdale John Stewart Dugdale (5 April 1934 – 4 September 2020) was a New Zealand entomologist known for his contributions to knowledge about New Zealand lepidoptera, as well as tachinid flies and cicadas The cicadas () are a superfamily, the ...

placed this species in the genus ''Asaphodes''. This placement was reaffirmed by Dugdale in 1988. The female

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes ...

, collected at

Arthur's Pass Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explori ...

, is held at 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 (Lo ...

Description

Hudson described the species as follows:

Distribution and habitat

''A. cataphracta'' is endemic to New Zealand. It can be found in the North Island and the South Island. It prefers grassy mountain side slopes as habitat. Specimens of this species have been collected in the North Canterbury (NC) and Westland (WD) specimen collection localities as described by Crosby et al. The species was collected in February in the

Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, , is listed as . It is situated in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ch ...

district by

Alfred Philpott Alfred Philpott (15 December 1870 – 24 July 1930) was a New Zealand museum curator, entomologist and writer. He was born in Tysoe, Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in ...

as well as at

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu () 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, New Zealand, Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori l ...

up to 1200m by Meyrick. Hudson stated the species occurred in abundance in the Humboldt mountains. Specimens were also collected in tussock country near the Homer saddle by George Howes.

Behaviour

The adults of this species are on the wing from December until March. They are a day flying moth.

Habitat and host species

This species inhabits grassy slopes containing its host species at altitudes of between 1000–1300 m. The larvae of this species is known to consume native mountain buttercups (''

'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asaphodes cataphracta Moths described in 1883 Moths of New Zealand Larentiinae Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Endemic moths of New Zealand