''Lysiphragma howesii'' 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), ...
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
Tineidae
Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera described by Pierre André Latreille in 1810. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in more than 300 genera. ...
.
It was described by
Ambrose Quail in 1901.
This species 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 ...
to
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 ...
.
Taxonomy
''L. howseii'' was first described in 1901 by Ambrose Quail using adult specimens bred by
George Howes in December 1899 at
Invercargill
Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...
.
As at 1988 type specimens have not been located.
This is a male specimen held at Te Papa collected by Howes at Invercargill in October 1900 however the collection of this specimen postdates the description of this species.
Description
Quail described the adult of this species as follows:
Hosts
The larval host plant of this species is ''
Plagianthus betulinus.''
References
External links
Image of type specimen of ''Lysiphragma howesii''
Moths described in 1901
Tineidae
Moths of New Zealand
Endemic fauna of New Zealand
Endemic moths of New Zealand
{{Tineidae-stub