Zelleria porphyraula

Zelleria porphyraula
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Yponomeutidae
Genus: Zelleria
Species:
Z. porphyraula
Binomial name
Zelleria porphyraula
Meyrick, 1927

Zelleria porphyraula is a moth in the family Yponomeutidae.[1] It was first described by Edward Meyrick and is endemic to New Zealand. This species has been observed in both the North and South Islands. The adult of the species is on the wing in November and April.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1927.[2] The male holotype specimen was collected in Wellington in April by George Hudson when beating the species Podocarpus totara.[2] The holotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[3]

Description

Illustration of Z. porphyraula.

Meyrick described this species as follows:

♂ 13 mm. Head white, forehead and a lateral stripe on crown light fulvous, forehead sprinkled black. Palpi pale grey sprinkled black. Thorax dark bluish-grey, a central whitish streak, tegulae purple. Forewings narrow, costa arched towards pointed apex; bronzy-greyish-ochreous, slightly orange-tinged; costal edge greyish-purple, with some scattered small black dots; sub-costal and median suffused greyish-purple streaks, confluent towards base and terminating in an apical blotch, median interrupted by a whitish patch above tornus; suffused white dots on sub-costal representing discal stigmata and one on median obliquely before first discal representing plical; an irregular white streak above dorsum from near base to middle of wing, sprinkled or dotted black, dorsum beneath this narrowly brownish-ochreous from base to tornus, dorsal edge towards base mottled black; a few white scales towards apex: cilia bronzy-brown, on tornal area light greyish, tips round apex black, at origin of costal cilia some white scales. Hindwings light bluish-grey; cilia light grey.[2]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[1] It has been observed in both the North and South Islands.[4]

Behaviour

This species is on the wing in November and April.[4]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zelleria porphyraula.
  1. ^ a b "Zelleria porphyraula Meyrick, 1927". www.nzor.org.nz. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  2. ^ a b c Edward Meyrick (15 November 1927). "Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 58: 314–315. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q108312620.
  3. ^ Dugdale , J. S. (23 September 1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa". Fauna of New Zealand. 14. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research: 76. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN 0111-5383. Wikidata Q45083134.
  4. ^ a b George Vernon Hudson (1939), A supplement to the butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington: Ferguson and Osborn Limited, p. 460, OCLC 9742724, Wikidata Q109420935