''Helastia scissa'' 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

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 ...

. This species 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 ...

and has been observed only in the

Marlborough region Marlborough District or the Marlborough Region (, or ''Tauihu''), commonly known simply as Marlborough, is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, located on the northeast of the South Island. Marlborough is a unitary authority, both a distri ...

of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

. Adults are on the wing in February, are nocturnal and are attracted to light.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Robin Craw in 1987 using specimens collected on the slopes of Mount Tarndale in the

in February by John S. Dugdale. 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 at the New Zealand Arthropod Collection.

Description

Craw described this species as follows: Craw goes on to distinguish this species from '' H. corcularia'', '' H. semisignata'', '' H. salmoni'' and '' H. ohauensis'' as a result of the differences of shape of both the male and female genitalia.

Distribution

''H. scissa'' is endemic to New Zealand. It is found in the South Island and has only been observed in Marlborough.

Behaviour

Adults of this species have been observed on the wing in February. They are nocturnal and are attracted to light.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13879070 Moths described in 1987 Cidariini Taxa named by Robin Craw Endemic moths of New Zealand