''Stigmella laquaeorum'' 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 ...

of the family

Nepticulidae Nepticulidae is a family of very small moths with a worldwide distribution. They are characterised by eyecaps over the eyes (see also Opostegidae, Bucculatricidae, Lyonetiidae). These pigmy moths or midget moths, as they are commonly known, inc ...

. 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 has only been found on

Snares Islands / Tini Heke The Snares Islands (; officially Snares Islands / Tini Heke), known colloquially as The Snares, is a group of uninhabited islands lying about south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-southwest of Stewart Island / Rakiura. The Snar ...

. The egg is laid on the underside leaf. Larvae are leaf miners. There may be up to 20 mines per leaf. Larvae are present in all months. The cocoon is attached to fallen large debris or trunk bases. Adults have been recorded on the wing from late November to February. They are diurnal, flying only in the morning. This species is classified as "At Risk, Naturally Uncommon" by the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Taxonomy

This species was originally described by

John S. Dugdale John Stewart Dugdale (5 April 1934 – 4 September 2020) was a New Zealand entomologist known for his contributions to knowledge about New Zealand lepidoptera, as well as tachinid flies and cicadas The cicadas () are a superfamily, the ...

under the name ''Nepticula laquaeorum''. In 1988 Dugdale noted that the epithet ''laquaeorum'' was inadmissible and amended it to the spelling of ''laqueorum''. He also placed the species within the genus '' Stigmella''. The taxonomy of this species was also studied by Hans Donner and Christopher Wilkinson in 1989 who also used the epithet ''laqueorum''. However in the 2016 revision of global species in Nepticulidae and Opostegidae the epithet ''laquaeorum'' was used. 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

New Zealand Arthropod Collection The New Zealand Arthropod Collection is a collection of terrestrial invertebrates held by Maanaki Whenua – Landcare Research in Auckland, New Zealand. It specialises in the taxonomy and identification of indigenous and exotic invertebrate sp ...

Description

The larvae of this species are up to 6 mm long and pale green. The adult moths have a forewing length of between 3–4 mm. This species is similar in appearance to its close relative '' Stigmella fulva.'' However it can be distinguished from that species as ''S. laqueorum'' has basally black costa and has no linear black scale marks on the discal cell area. ''S. laqueorum'' is also smaller and has more obvious wing markings than ''S. fulva''.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. It can only be found on Snares Islands / Tini Heke.

Host species

The larvae feed on '' Olearia lyallii''.

Conservation status

This species has been classified as having the "At Risk, Naturally Uncommon" conservation status under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had s ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7616709 Nepticulidae Moths described in 1971 Endangered biota of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand Taxa named by John Stewart Dugdale