''Notoreas ischnocyma'' 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

Geometridae The geometer moths are 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, paraphyleti ...

. 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 ...

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 found in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

and

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

Taxonomy

''Notoreas ischnocyma'' was 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 1905 using material collected at Castle Hill by

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 ...

at an elevation of 1700 meters. Hudson had previously illustrated the specimen in his 1898 book ''New Zealand Moths and Butterflies (Macro-lepidoptera)'' but had included it within the species '' N. isoleuca''. Hudson subsequently agreed with Meyrick and discussed and illustrated this species under the new species name in ''The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand''. The genus ''Notoreas'' was reviewed in 1986 by

R. C. Craw R. or r. may refer to: * ''Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler * '' Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King * ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen * or , abbreviate ...

and the placement of this species within it was confirmed. However species within the genus ''Notoreas'' are currently regarded as being in need of revision. The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

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

Meyrick described the species as follows: ''N. ischnocyma'' can be distinguished from similar species by the slender second wavy line on its forewings.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. Other than the type locality of Castle Hill, ''N. ischnocyma'' has also been found in the Hawkdun and the Dansey ecological districts in Otago.

Biology and behaviour

This day flying species is on the wing in December and January.

Habitat and host species

This species inhabits high alpine stunted vegetation and herb fields. Larvae of species within the genus ''Notoreas'' feed exclusively on plants within the genera ''

Pimelea ''Pimelea'', commonly known as rice flowers, is a genus of plants belonging to the family Thymelaeaceae. There are about 150 species, including 110 in Australia and 36 in New Zealand. Description Plants in the genus ''Pimelea'' are her ...

'' and ''

Kelleria ''Kelleria'' is a genus of miniature shrubs in the family Thymelaeaceae, found in southeastern Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and Borneo. The centre of species biodiversity is the Lammermoor Range in Central Otago, NZ. Species Species acce ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Notoreas ischnocyma Moths described in 1905 Moths of New Zealand Larentiinae Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Endemic moths of New Zealand