''Harmologa scoliastis'' 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 ...

. 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 1907. 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 ...

and is found in the southern parts of the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

and throughout the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. This species inhabits open country and has an affinity for ''

Discaria toumatou ''Discaria toumatou'', commonly called matagouri, tūmatakuru, or wild Irishman, is a tangle-branched thorny shrub endemic to New Zealand. It is common throughout the South Island and is less common in the North Island. Taxonomy This species ...

.'' Adults are on the wing from November until April, most commonly in January and February.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by

in 1907 using a specimen collected by

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 ...

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu () is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland, New Zealand, Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori l ...

and named ''Trachybathra scoliastis''. Meyrick placed this species in the genus '' Harmologa'' in 1911. George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in his 1928 book ''The butterflies and moths of New Zealand.'' 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 ...

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 this species as follows:

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. This species is found in the southern parts of the North Island and throughout the South Island.

Habitat and hosts

''H. scoliastis'' inhabits open country. Hudson stated that he obtained specimens by dislodging them from the foliage of ''

'' growing on the banks of the Dart River.

Behaviour

Adults of ''H. scoliastis'' are on the wing from November until April, most commonly in January and February. Hudson recorded that a Mr. Gourlay states that the larva of this insect sometimes inhabits the swellings in the stems of Muehlenbeckia made by the larva of Morovu subfasciata*

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13654705 Moths described in 1907 Archipini Endemic moths of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Meyrick