Pasiphila aristias is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. It was described by Edward Meyrick in 1897 and is endemic to New Zealand. This species is found in both the North and South Islands and inhabits subalpine and native forest. Adults are on the wing in December and January and are attracted to light.
| Pasiphila aristias | |
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| Female | |
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| Male | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Genus: | Pasiphila |
| Species: | P. aristias
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| Binomial name | |
| Pasiphila aristias | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Taxonomy
editThis species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1897 and named Chloroclystis aristias.[3][2] George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in both his 1898 and his 1928 books under that name.[4][5] In 1971 John S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Pasiphila.[6] In 1988 Dugdale discussed this species under the name Pasiphila aristias and in 2010 Robert Hoare in the New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity followed this placement.[2][7] The male holotype specimen, collected by George Hudson in a limestone valley at the foot of Mount Peel in the Mount Arthur tablelands at an elevation of about 4000 ft, is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[4][2]
Description
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Meyrick described this species as follows:
♂. 24 mm. Head white. Antennae with short fine pectinations terminating in fascicles of long cilia. Thorax ochreous-whitish, sprinkled with fuscous. Abdomen ochreous-whitish, somewhat blackish-mixed, segments 2 and 3 suffused with blackish, anal segment rosy-tinged. Forewings ochreous-whitish, with faint stripe of light reddish and dark fuscous scales; basal patch suffused with crimson and dark fuscous towards costa; edges of median band stronger and darker-marked, especially on costal half; a narrow transverse dark fuscous discal mark; fifth and sixth fasciae greyish-ochreous, suffused with dark fuscous towards costa. Hindwings with termen sinuate beneath apex; fuscous-whitish, with scattered dark fuscous scales indicating very faint striae; a dark fuscous discal dot; a postmedian series of small black dots; a rosy suffusion towards termen.[3]
Distribution
editP. aristias is endemic to New Zealand and can be found on both the North and South Islands.[1][7] Although considered an uncommon species by Brian Patrick, it has been observed in its type locality of Mount Peel in the Mount Arthur tablelands as well as on Mount Taranaki, in the Wellington Region, in the Homer Tunnel area in Fiordland, in Canterbury at the Orton Bradley Park, in Dunedin and on Ben Lomond in Otago.[5][8][9][10]
Behaviour
editAdults are on the wing in December and January and are attracted to light.[5]
Habitat
editThis species inhabits subalpine and native forest.[5]
References
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- ^ a b "Pasiphila aristias (Meyrick, 1897)". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d John Stewart Dugdale (23 September 1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa". Fauna of New Zealand. 14. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research: 187. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN 0111-5383. Wikidata Q45083134.
- ^ a b Edward Meyrick (16 December 1897). "XVI. Descriptions of New Lepidoptera from Australia and New Zealand". Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London. 45 (4): 385. doi:10.1111/J.1365-2311.1897.TB00976.X. ISSN 0035-8894. Wikidata Q56158835.
- ^ a b George Vernon Hudson (1898), New Zealand moths and butterflies (Macro-lepidoptera), Illustrator: George Hudson, London, pp. 42–43, doi:10.5962/BHL.TITLE.7912, OCLC 980865393, Wikidata Q19073637
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d George Vernon Hudson (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington: Ferguson and Osborn Limited, p. 94, LCCN 88133764, OCLC 25449322, Wikidata Q58593286
- ^ Dugdale, J. S. (10 November 1971). "Entomology of the Aucklands and other islands south of New Zealand: Lepidoptera, excluding non-crambine Pyralidae". Pacific Insects Monographs. 27: 106. ISSN 0078-7515. Wikidata Q64006453.
- ^ a b Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia: chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 460. ISBN 978-1-877257-93-3. OCLC 973607714. OL 25288394M. Wikidata Q45922947.
- ^ Hamish J. H. Patrick; Mike H. Bowie; Barry W. Fox; Brian H. Patrick (2011). "The moths of Quail Island (Ōtamahua): a faunal comparison of an island under restoration with other sites on Banks Peninsula". New Zealand Natural Sciences. 36. doi:10.26021/583. ISSN 0113-7492. Wikidata Q97665452.
- ^ W George Howes (September 1946). "Lepidoptera collecting at the Homer, with descriptions of new species". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 76: 141. ISSN 1176-6166. Wikidata Q62091906.
- ^ Brian H. Patrick (1994), Coastal butterflies and moths of Wellington and South Wairarapa. (PDF), Wikidata Q110426707, archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2021