Orocrambus ornatus

Orocrambus ornatus
Male
Conservation status
Nationally Critical (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Crambidae
Subfamily:	Crambinae
Tribe:	Crambini
Genus:	Orocrambus
Species:	O. ornatus
Binomial name
Orocrambus ornatus (Philpott, 1927)
Synonyms
Crambus ornatus Philpott, 1927

Orocrambus ornatus is a moth in the family Crambidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is classified as critically endangered by the Department of Conservation.

Taxonomy

O. ornatus was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1927[2] using a male specimen he collected in Golden Downs on 8 January 1926.[3][4] Philpott named the species Crambus ornatus.[2] George Vernon Hudson described and illustrated the species under the same name in 1939.[5] In 1975 David Edward Gaskin assigned Crambus ornatus to the genus Orocrambus.[4]

Description

Philpott described the species as follows:

20 mm. Head and palpi ochreous. Antennae brown. Thorax brown mixed with white. Abdomen whitish-ochreous. Legs white, anterior pair fuscous. Forewings, costa moderately arched, apex blunt-pointed, termen rounded, oblique; brassy brown to chocolate brown; markings white; a basal patch on costa half enclosing a brown area; a broad irregular band at 1⁄4, not reaching dorsum, outwardly strongly dentate; on fold before this a large spot of mingled blackish and white scales; an elongate black mark about middle of wing at 1⁄3; a crescentic white area sprinkled with brown on costal half from about 1⁄3 to 4⁄5, enclosing an elongate spot of blackish-brown on costal margin; beneath this costal spot a prominent ring of brown enclosing a white area with a central brown dot; second line pure white, dentate, preceded on costa by a small blackish-brown dot and followed by a much larger one; a white area beneath the latter reaching apex; fringes fuscous, irregularly barred with white. Hindwings and fringes pale ochreous-grey.[2]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand[6][7] and has been recorded in Golden Downs in the Tasman District[4] as well as in the Nelson district.[8]

Ecology and habitat

O. ornatus appears to prefer forest habitat.[8] Adults have been recorded on wing in January.[4]

Host plants

This species has been found to be associated with plants in the genus Uncinia.[8]

Conservation status

This species has the "Nationally Critical" conservation status under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[1]

References

1. Hoare, R.J.B.; Dugdale, J.S.; Edwards, E.D.; Gibbs, G.W.; Patrick, B.H.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Rolfe, J.R. (2017). "Conservation status of New Zealand butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), 2015" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 20: 6.
2. Philpott, Alfred (1927). "Notes and descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 58: 80–92 – via Papers Past.
3. Dugdale, J. S. (1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 14: 149. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
4. Gaskin, D. E. (1975). "Revision of the New Zealand Crambini (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Crambinae)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 2 (3): 265–363. doi:10.1080/03014223.1975.9517878.
5. Hudson, George Vernon (1939). A supplement to the butterflies and moths of New Zealand. Wellington: Ferguson & Osborn Ltd. p. 419.
6. "Orocrambus ornatus (Philpott, 1927)". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
7. Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia: chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 457. ISBN 978-1-877257-93-3. OCLC 973607714. OL 25288394M. Wikidata Q45922947.
8. Patrick, Brian; Dugdale, John S. (2000). Conservation status of the New Zealand Lepidoptera (PDF). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. p. 28. ISBN 978-0478218671.