''Helastia mutabilis'' 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 ...

of the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metr ...

. 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 ...

, where it is known from both the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and

South Islands The Kingdom of the Isles consisted of the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Firth of Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the , or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the or Nort ...

. It inhabits native forest at lower altitudes and its larval host are moss species in the genus ''

Racomitrium ''Racomitrium'' is a genus of mosses in the family Grimmiaceae established in 1818 by Samuel Elisée Bridel-Brideri. It contains the following species: *'' Racomitrium aciculare'' *'' Racomitrium aduncoides'' *'' Racomitrium affine'' *'' Rac ...

.'' This species is nocturnal and is attracted to light. It can easily be confused with the similar in appearance species ''

Helastia alba ''Helastia alba'' is a moth of the family Geometridae. This species is endemic to New Zealand and is found only in the South Island. This species inhabits native forest or scrubland and can be observed in montane to subalpine Nothofagus dominant ...

'' and '' Helastia cinerearia.''

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Robin C. Craw in 1987 using specimens collected in

Riwaka Riwaka ( mi, Riuwaka) is a small settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island. It lies beside Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, five kilometres north of Motueka, and close to the mouth of the Riuwaka River. The land where the ...

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 ...

. The male

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 in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection.

Description

This species was described by Craw as follows: This species is similar in appearance to and can be easily confused with '' H. alba'' and '' H. cinerearia''. The most reliable way to distinguish between these species is via the examination of their genitalia.

Distribution

''H. mutabilis'' is endemic to New Zealand. It can be found in both the North and South Islands.

Behaviour

This species is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an ethology, animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have ...

and is attracted to light.

Habitat and hosts

''H. mutabilis'' is associated with lower altitude forests of ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gu ...

'' and

podocarp Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pre ...

species. The larvae of this species have been observed in November feeding on moss species of the genus ''

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5701519 Larentiinae Moths described in 1987 Endemic moths of New Zealand Taxa named by Robin Craw