''Cadmogenes'' is a genus of

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 ...

s of the family

Plutellidae The Plutellidae are a family of moths commonly known as the diamondback moths, named after the diamondback moth (''Plutella xylostella'') of European origin. It was once considered to have three subfamilies: Plutellinae, Praydinae, and Scythrop ...

. It contains only one species, ''Cadmogenes literata'', which is found in

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 ...

. This species 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 ...

. It has been classified as "Not Threatened" by the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Cadmogenes'' was described in the family

, but is considered an enigmatic unplaced genus (along with the genus '' Titanomis'') and may require its own family. ''Cadmogenes literata'' 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 1923 using specimens collected at Silverstream and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in January.

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 ...

described and illustrated this species in his 1928 book ''The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand''. The lectotype specimen was collected at Kauri Gully, Birkenhead, Auckland by George Hudson and 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

Meyrick described the species as follows: The

wing venation Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insect flight, insects to fly. They are found on the second and third Thorax (insect anatomy), thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often ...

of the adult moth differs depending on whether the larva is reared from '' Pterophylla'' or ''

Caldcluvia ''Caldcluvia'' is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Cunoniaceae. The only species in the genus is ''Caldcluvia paniculata'', known as tiaca, an evergreen tree native to Chile. It is found from Ñuble Region, Ñ ...

'' inflorescences.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. ''C. literata'' occurs in the Northland, Auckland, Taupo,

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

areas.

Host species and biology

The larvae feed on the flowers of ''Caldcluvia'' and ''Weinmannia'' species. There is one generation per year. The type locality of Kauri Gully now has few ''Weinmannia'' trees but these are abundant at Silverstream.

Conservation status

This species has been classified as having the "Not Threatened" conservation status 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 s ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17460788, from2=Q13447286 Moths described in 1923 Plutellidae Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Endemic moths of New Zealand