''Pyroderces apparitella'' is a species of

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 ...

in the family Cosmopterigidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and has been observed in 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-larges ...

where it is regarded by some as being not common. The preferred habitat of this species is native forests and residential gardens. Adults are on the wing in December and January and the species is attracted to light.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Francis Walker in 1864 using a female specimen obtained from D. Bolton in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

and named ''Gelechia apparitella''. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

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 ...

. In 1889

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 March 1938, at Thornhanger, Marlborough) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern m ...

placed this species within the genus ''Proterocosma''. However, in 1928

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 network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a title conferr ...

discussed and illustrated the species under the name ''Pyroderces apparitella''. John S. Dugdale affirmed the placement of this species in the genus ''Pyroderces'' in 1988. In 2019, in a publication by Alan Emmerson & Robert Hoare, this species was referred to as ''Pyroderces'' ( s.l.) ''apparitella,'' indicating that the authors had doubt about the placement of this species within that genus.

Description

Walker described the species as follows:

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is found in the

. This species was observed in areas near Napier and Hastings in the early 1970s but was regarded as not common. It has also been recorded in North Auckland but only rarely. It has also been observed in Wellington.

Behaviour and biology

It is on the wing in December and January. This species has been observed via light trapping indicating it is attracted to light. When resting the wings of this species lay close to its body forming a sharp point.

Habitat and host species

This species inhabits native forests and residential gardens.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14243400 Moths described in 1864 Cosmopterigidae Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Taxa named by Francis Walker (entomologist) Endemic moths of New Zealand