''Aponotoreas insignis'' (also known as the Alpine grassland orange) 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 ...

of 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 ...

Taxonomy

This species was first described by

Arthur Gardiner Butler Arthur Gardiner Butler F.L.S., F.Z.S. (27 June 1844 – 28 May 1925) was an English entomologist, arachnologist and ornithologist. He worked at the British Museum on the taxonomy of birds, insects, and spiders. Biography Arthur Gardiner B ...

in 1877 from specimens collected by

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employed ...

and John Enys. Butler originally named the species ''Aspilates insignis''. In 1986 Robin C. Craw described the new genus '' Aponotoreas'' and included ''A. insignis'' within it.

Behaviour

This moth is day flying. Adults of the species can be found on the wing between January and March.

Habitat and hosts

''A. insignis'' prefers to inhabit tussock land on the mountain sides of the South Island. Larvae exist on species of ''

Chionochloa ''Chionochloa'' is a genus of tussock grass in the family Poaceae, found primarily in New Zealand with one known species in New Guinea and another on Lord Howe Island (part of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Austr ...

'' and ''

Poa ''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of Poaceae, grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand spe ...

.''

References

External links

Citizen science observations of Aponotoreas insignis

Specimens held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum
Moths of New Zealand Hydriomenini Moths described in 1877 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Larentiinae-stub