This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1915 using specimens collected by Alfred Philpott at Tisbury and West Plains near Invercargill in September and by George Hudson at Lake Wakatipu. Meyrick originally named this species Scoparia atmogramma.[2] In 1928 George Hudson, in his book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, illustrated and discussed this species under that name.[3] In 1988 J. S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Eudonia.[4] The lectotype specimen collected in Invercargill is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[4]
Description
Illustration of male
Meyrick described the species as follows:
♂. 23-24 mm. Head and thorax light grey more or less mixed with whitish. Palpi 3, light grey, white towards base beneath. Antennal ciliations 2⁄3. Abdomen pale greyish-ochreous. Forewings elongate, very narrow towards base, gradually dilated posteriorly, apex obtuse, termen slightly rounded, rather oblique; ochreous-grey, usually more or less suffused with whitish on veins, interneural spaces more or less suffusedly sprinkled with dark fuscous; claviform indicated by a small spot of dark-fuscous suffusion : cilia white, with a grey line. Hindwings 1+1⁄4 without long hairs in cell; light grey, paler towards base : cilia white or in one specimen whitish-ochreous, with faint grey line.[2]
Distribution
This species is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed on the southern half of the South Island as well as on Stewart Island.[5][6]
Behaviour
Adults have been recorded on wing most months of the year except July. They are most frequently observed from September to December.[6] The adult moths are attracted to light.[7]
^ abMeyrick, E. (1915). "Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 47: 201–204. Retrieved 24 January 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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