''Izatha quinquejacula'' 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 ...

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 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 is classified as "At Risk, Naturally Uncommon" by the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

. It is only found on the

Three Kings Islands 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cul ...

Taxonomy and etymology

This species was first described by Robert J. B. Hoare in 2010. It was first discovered by Peter M. Johns in 1963.

Description

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 ...

of this species is 19–23 mm for males and about 26 mm for females. The species is similar in appearance to '' I. epiphanes,'' ''I. mesoschista'', and ''I. haumu''. However ''I. quinquejacula'' can be distinguished from ''I. epiphanes'' as it has a less noticeable discal spot as well as a fishtail shaped mark above this spot on its forewings. It can be distinguished from ''I. mesoschista'', and ''I. haumu''. as it has a 3 shaped black mark on the main vein running along the leading edge of its wing which is not found on the forewings of those two species.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is only found on the Great Island in the Three Kings Islands.

Biology and behaviour

Little is known of the biology of this species and the larvae are as yet unknown. Adults have been recorded on the wing in November and December.

Conservation status

This species has been classified as having the "At Risk, Naturally Uncommon" conservation status under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had s ...

References

Oecophorinae Moths described in 2010 Endangered biota of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Oecophoridae-stub