''Aponotoreas orphnaea'' 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 ...

. 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. 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

in 1883 as ''Pasithea orphnaea''. Meyrick collected 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. * ...

specimen of ''A. orphnaea'' in January of that year near the summit of

Ben Lomond Ben Lomond (, ), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Memorial Park and the Loch Lomond and The Trossach ...

at 1700 metres. This moth subsequently became known as ''Notoreas orphnaea'' after Meyrick renamed the genus ''Pasithea'' as ''Notoreas'' when he became aware of that ''Pasithea'' was preoccupied. In 1986 R. C. Craw described the new genus '' Aponotoreas'' and included ''A. orphnaea'' within it.

Distribution and habitat

''A. orphnaea'' has been observed in the high alpine zone of

Central Otago Central Otago is an area located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River ...

in wetland habitat. ''A. orphnaea'' has also been found in alpine grassland habitat. It is regarded as being locally common on land covered by Mount Aspiring Station.

References

External links

Citizen science observations of species

Specimens held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum
Moths of New Zealand Hydriomenini Moths described in 1883 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Larentiinae-stub