''Sabatinca aenea'', also known as the Banks Peninsula Metallic, 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 ...

belonging to the family

Micropterigidae Micropterigoidea is the superfamily of "mandibulate archaic moths", all placed in the single family Micropterigidae, containing currently about twenty living genera. They are considered the most primitive extant lineage of lepidoptera (Kristense ...

. This species was first described 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 ...

in 1923. 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 ...

and is found in

Kaikōura Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...

and in the

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 ...

regions. The larvae of this species is a deep grey green colour and likely feeds on foliose

liverwort Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry ...

species. The adult moths likely feed on fern spores or sedge pollen. This species prefers moist semi-shaded habitat and the adults are on the wing from the start of October until the middle of December.

Taxonomy

This species was described by George Hudson in 1923 using a specimen collected by

Stewart Lindsay Stewart may refer to: People *Stewart (name), Scottish surname and given name *Clan Stewart, a Scottish clan *Clan Stewart of Appin, a Scottish clan Places Canada *Stewart, British Columbia *Stewart Township, Nipissing District, Ontario (histo ...

at Governor's Bay in

. Hudson went on to discuss and illustrate the species in his 1928 book ''The butterflies and moths of New Zealand''. 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

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

Description

The larvae of this species are darkly grey green in colour and are similar in appearance to the larvae of ''S. doroxena''. Hudson described the adults of this species as follows: The forewing patterns of this species are variable but can be similar to '' S. aurella.''

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is found in the Kaikōura and the Canterbury districts.

Behaviour

Adult moths are on the wing from the start of October until the middle of December.

Host species and habitat

The larvae of this species likely feed on foliose liverwort species with the adults likely feeding on fern spores or sedge pollen. Both the larvae and adults prefer damp semi-shaded habitat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7395943 Micropterigidae Moths described in 1923 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Moths of New Zealand Taxa named by George Hudson Endemic moths of New Zealand