''Bityla defigurata'' is a

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 ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the othe ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Francis Walker in 1865 using specimens collected by T. R. Oxley 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 ...

and originally named ''Xylina defigurata''.

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 March 1938, at Thornhanger, Marlborough) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern m ...

placed this species in the genus ''Bityla'' and synonymised ''Bityla thoracica'' with this species. The female

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 seve ...

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 ...

Description

Walker described this species as follows:

Distribution

It is endemic to New Zealand and found in both the North and South Islands.

Behaviour

The adults of this species are on the wing from January to March and is attracted to light.

Host species

The larvae of this species have been reared on ''

Muehlenbeckia australis ''Muehlenbeckia australis'', the large-leaved muehlenbeckia or pohuehue, is a prostrate or climbing plant native to New Zealand. Description The species grows up to tall with grey bark. The leaves are on stiff petioles and are long. Lamina is ...

'' and ''

Muehlenbeckia complexa ''Muehlenbeckia complexa'', commonly known as ''pohuehue'' ( mi, pōhuehue), although this name also applies to some other climbers such as '' Muehlenbeckia australis''. Description ''Muehlenbeckia complexa'' is one of 50 species of shrubs, that ...

''.

References

Hadeninae Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Moths described in 1865 Taxa named by Francis Walker (entomologist) Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Hadeninae-stub