Ctenopseustis Filicis
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''Ctenopseustis filicis'', also known as ginger ponga leaf-tyer, is a species 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 ...
of the family
Tortricidae The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genu ...
. 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 ...
to
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 ...
and is found in the South and Stewart Islands.


Taxonomy

This species was first described by
John Stewart Dugdale John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...
in 1990. The male
holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...
specimen, collected on the Glory Track at Bluff Hill, is held in 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. It specialises in the taxonomy and identification of indigenous and exotic invertebrate sp ...
.


Description

The larva is small and has a brown head. The
wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
of the adult moth is 19–24 mm for males and 22–28 mm for females.


Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand and can be found on the South and Stewart Islands.


Habitat and host species

The larvae feed on '' Dicksonia squarosa,
Dicksonia fibrosa ''Dicksonia fibrosa'', the golden tree fern, , , or (in Māori) is a species of medium-sized tree fern native to New Zealand. Etymology and taxonomy Colenso in Hooker, ''Sp. Fil.'' 1, 68 (1844) was originally collected by Colenso, but was i ...
, Cyathea colensoi,
Cyathea dealbata ''Alsophila tricolor'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori language, Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into Ne ...
'' and ''
Cyathea smithii ''Alsophila smithii'', synonym ''Cyathea smithii'', commonly known as the soft tree fern or kātote, is a species of tree fern from New Zealand. Distribution and ecology The species' natural distribution covers all major islands of New Zealand: ...
''.


Behaviour

The larvae of this species create a shelter by tying together the fronds of its host species with silk webbing. Larvae can be found all year round hiding in their shelter. The adult moth can be seen all year round but most frequently in October.


Etymology

The species name refers to the host plant and is derived from Latin ''felix'' (meaning
fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
).


References

Moths described in 1990 Archipini Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by John Stewart Dugdale Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Archipini-stub