''Izatha austera'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

in the family

Oecophoridae Oecophoridae (concealer moths) is a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. The phylogeny and systematics of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the circumscription of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this. ...

. It 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 1883 and 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 ...

. This species can be found throughout 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 has also been observed in the

Nelson region Nelson () is a List of cities in New Zealand, city and Districts of New Zealand, unitary authority on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-old ...

in the South Island. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of ''I. austera'' feed on dead wood by tunnelling into branches of its host species. The larvae matures from September and is on the wing in the months of December to January. The adult moth is variable in colouration but is seldom observed.

Taxonomy

''I. austera'' was first described, as ''Semiocosma austera'', by

in 1883, in brief, and again in greater detail in 1884. Meyrick used two specimens collected in the

Botanic Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

and forest in

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 ...

in January. In 1915 Meyrick placed this species in the genus ''Izatha''.

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 ...

discussed and illustrated this species in 1928. The

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes ...

specimen 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

Hudson described the larvae as follows: Meyrick described the adults of the species as follows: 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 ...

is 13–19 mm for males and 16.5–25 mm for females. This species is variable in its forewing colouration. ''I. austera'' also has noticeable scale-tufts on its forewing. It can be confused with ''I. dasydisca'' but the male can be distinguished as it has blackish coloured antennae, a scale-tuft on the third segment of the labial palp, and lacks the pair of large scale-tufts that ''I. dasydisca'' has on its forewings.

Distribution

''I. austera'' is endemic to New Zealand. This species is widespread throughout the North Island, with a single South Island record from north-west

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. This species is present in Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Taupo, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Rangitikei, Wellington and Nelson districts.

Biology and behaviour

Larvae live in silken tubes under the bark of dead branches of its host species. The larvae live during winter months and are mature by the end of September. Adults are on wing from December to February. This species have been collected via sugar traps or by beating shrubs during the daytime. ''I. austera'' only comes sparing to light. When resting on bare tree trunks the adult moth is very inconspicuous.

Habitat and host species

Larvae feed during the winter. They have been recorded from dead branches of ''

Aristotelia serrata ''Aristotelia serrata'', commonly known as wineberry or in the Māori language makomako or just mako, is a small tree in the family Elaeocarpaceae, in the genus '' Aristotelia'', found in the North Island, South Island and Stewart Island of New ...

'', '' Coprosma grandifolia'' and probably ''

Coprosma robusta ''Coprosma robusta'', commonly known as karamū, is a flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae that is endemic to New Zealand. It can survive in many climates, but is most commonly found in coastal areas, lowland forests, or shrublands. Karamū c ...

'', ''

Cordyline australis ''Cordyline australis'', commonly known as the cabbage tree, or by its Māori language, Māori name of ''tī'' or ''tī kōuka'', is a widely branched monocotyledon, monocot tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to tall with a s ...

'', ''

Coriaria arborea ''Coriaria arborea'' is a highly poisonous and common native shrub or small tree of New Zealand. The common name for the plant is tree tutu'', and it is one of the New Zealand species of ''Coriaria'' known by the name tutu. ''Coriaria arborea' ...

'', ''

Laurelia novae-zelandiae ''Laurelia novae-zelandiae'', also called pukatea, is a large evergreen tree, endemic to the forests of New Zealand. Pukatea has 'toothed' leaves and produces small flowers. It is a species in the Atherospermataceae (formerly Monimiaceae) fam ...

'', ''

Litsea calicaris ''Litsea calicaris'', the mangeao, is an evergreen tree endemic to the North Island of New Zealand, occurring in lowland forest from near North Cape south to about 38°S. It belongs to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. Description Mangeao is the ...

'', ''

Melicytus ramiflorus ''Melicytus ramiflorus'', commonly known as māhoe, is a small tree of the family Violaceae. It is endemic (ecology), endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to 10 metres high with a trunk up to 60 cm in diameter, it has smooth, light bark a ...

'' and ''

Olearia rani ''Olearia'', most commonly known as daisy-bush, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae, the largest of the flowering plant families in the world. Olearia are found in Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand. The genus i ...

''.

References

External links

Photograph of lectotype specimen
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6101634 Oecophorinae Moths described in 1883 Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Endemic moths of New Zealand