''Stigmella cassiniae'' is a

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 ...

of the family Nepticulidae. 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 and South Islands. The larvae are leaf miners of leaves and stems of ''

Ozothamnus leptophyllus ''Ozothamnus leptophyllus'', commonly known as tauhinu or cottonwood, is an endemic shrub of New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the Nor ...

.'' When mature, the larvae pupate amongst leaf litter on the ground. Adult moths have been recorded on the wing in January, February, April, and October. It has been hypothesised that there are likely two generations in a year.

Taxonomy

This species was first described in 1989 by Hans Donner and Christopher Wilkinson from specimens collected in the Gisborne,

Hawkes Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dis ...

and Southland regions. The male

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, collected at Cheviot Face in the

Takitimu Range The Takitimu Mountains extend in a north–south direction southeast of Te Anau and Manapouri. The mountain range is about long and contains several peaks of around height, with the Brunel Peaks reaching . In Māori people mythology, the mou ...

on 30 January 1976 on ''Cassinia vauvilliersii'' (now known as ''

'') by J. S. Dugdale, is held in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection.

Description

Larvae are 2–3 mm long and orange-brown. Adult moths have forewings with a length of between 2–3 mm. Donner and Wilkinson described the adult male of this species as follows: Donner and Wilkinson went on to described the adult female as follows: This species is easily identified by its small size and its forewing colouration of golden brown.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in the North and South Islands. The species has been observed at Mt. Benger at an altitude of .

Host

The larvae feed on ''

.''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7616576 Nepticulidae Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Moths described in 1989 Endemic moths of New Zealand