''Archyala opulenta'' 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 w ...

of the family

Tineidae Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera described by Pierre André Latreille in 1810. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in more than 300 genera. ...

. This species 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 elsew ...

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 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

has been found in the upper Maitai Valley in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

as well as in Northland. The larvae of this species are associated with endemic bat species as they feed on the

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

Mystacinidae __NOTOC__ Mystacinidae is a family of unusual bats, the New Zealand short-tailed bats. There is one living genus, '' Mystacina'', with two species, one of which could have possibly become extinct in the 1960s. They are medium-sized bats, about in ...

. The adult moths are on the wing in November. It is classified as "Data Deficient" under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...

by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

Taxonomy

This species was described 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 county in the West Midlands region of England. The ...

in 1926 from specimens collected in the upper Maitai Valley in

by E. S. Gourlay in November.

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 network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a title conferr ...

in 1928 discussed this species as a synonym of '' A. terranea.'' However, in 1927 Philpott had shown a diagnostic difference between these two species when he illustrated the male genitalia of ''A. opulenta''. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

specimen is held at the

New Zealand Arthropod Collection The New Zealand Arthropod Collection is a collection of terrestrial invertebrates held by Maanaki Whenua – Landcare Research in Auckland, New Zealand.http://biocol.org/institutional-collection/new-zealand-arthropod-collection It specialises i ...

Description

Philpott described this species as follows:

Distribution

It is

. This species has been found in Nelson and Northland.

Biology and ecology

This species was first collected in the bush. This species is a known associate of bat colonies as its larva feeds on the

. The adult moth is on the wing in November.

Conservation status

This moth is classified under the

New Zealand Threat Classification system The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...

as being Data Deficient.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13391890 Moths described in 1926 Tineidae Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Alfred Philpott Endemic moths of New Zealand