''Izatha peroneanella'', also known as the small lichen moth or the green lichen tuft, 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 w ...

of the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to

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 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where it is found throughout the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

, other than the Aupouri Peninsula of Northland.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 15–24.5 mm for males and 17–29.5 mm for females. This moth has pale green forewings with patches of raised black scales that camouflage it well when it rests on lichens. The colouration of this moth is variable with the pale green forewings sometimes being white while in another form the black tufts are coloured brown.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is found in the North Island with the exception of the Aupouri Peninsula.

Biology and behaviour

Larvae of this species grow to approximately 16mm long and pupate in early November within its tunnel. There is one generation per year. Adults are on wing from September to early April. They are attracted to light.

Habitat and host species

This species is commonly found near native forest. Larvae have been recorded feeding on the dead wood of a variety of angiosperm species. They bore tunnels into the wood. The larvae usually prefer standing dead trees rather than wood found on the forest floor. Larvae have been reared from ''

Alseuosmia ''Alseuosmia'' is a genus of five species of flowering plants in the family Alseuosmiaceae, growing in New Zealand's North Island. Species members are characteristically small evergreen shrubs. An example occurrence of species representative ''A ...

'' species, '' Carpodetus serratus'', '' Coprosma grandifolia'', '' Coriaria arborea'', ''

Fuchsia excorticata ''Fuchsia excorticata'', commonly known as tree fuchsia, New Zealand fuchsia and by its Māori name kōtukutuku, is a New Zealand native tree belonging to the family Onagraceae. It is commonly found throughout New Zealand and as far south as th ...

'', ''

Nestegis ''Nestegis'' is a genus of flowering plant in the olive family, Oleaceae. There are five currently accepted species in the genus: three species are endemic to New Zealand, while one can be found on New Zealand and Norfolk Island. Another is r ...

'' species, ''

Pseudopanax arboreus ''Pseudopanax arboreus'' or five finger (Māori: ''puahou'' or ''whauwhaupaku''), is a New Zealand native tree belonging to the family Araliaceae. It is one of New Zealand's more common native trees, being found widely in bush, scrub and garden ...

'', ''

Ripogonum scandens ''Ripogonum scandens'', (commonly known as supplejack, Māori: kareao, pirita, translated as ''"twisted rope"'') is a common rainforest vine native to New Zealand. It can also grow in areas of swamp. Supplejack is a climbing liana, that has ha ...

'', '' Sophora'' species and '' Wisteria'' species.

References

Oecophorinae Moths of New Zealand Taxa named by Francis Walker (entomologist) Endemic fauna of New Zealand Moths described in 1864 Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Oecophoridae-stub