Austramathes purpurea

Austramathes purpurea is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae.[2] It was first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1879 from a specimen collected in Otago.[3] It is endemic to New Zealand.

Austramathes purpurea
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Austramathes
Species:
A. purpurea
Binomial name
Austramathes purpurea
(Butler, 1879)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Graphiphora purpurea Butler, 1879
  • Xanthia ceramodes Meyrick 1887

Description

The larvae of this species are green with orange, black, yellow and pink markings.[4]

The wingspan of the adult male A. purpurea is 29 - 37mm where as the wingspan of the female is 29 - 42mm.[2] George Hudson described the species as follows:

The expansion of the wings is 1 1/2 inches. The forewings are rich, glossy reddish-brown with several scattered whitish scales; there is a distinct yellow mark on the costa at about one-fourth, forming the beginning of a broken transverse line; the orbicular is small, round and yellowish; the reniform is small, crescentic and yellowish, the space between the orbicular and the reniform is very dark blackish-brown; beyond the reniform there is a conspicuous white mark on the costa forming the beginning of a second broken transverse line; a third shaded line is situated near the termen. The hind-wings are pale brown with a dark spot in the middle, very conspicuous on the under surface.[5]

Distribution

A. purpurea is endemic to New Zealand,[6] and found in both the North and the South Islands but has yet to be recorded at Stewart Island.[2] Adults can be found on the wing during the months of September until April.[5]

Habitat

This species prefers native forest as its habitat.[4]

Host species
narrow-leaved māhoe

The caterpillars of A. purpurea feed on māhoe as well as the narrow-leaved māhoe.[2]

Collection method

Robert Hoare has hypothesized that light trapping may not be the most efficient technique for collection of this species.[2]

References
  1. "Taxon: Austramathes purpurea (Butler, 1879) | Collections Online – Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  2. Hoare, R.J.B. (2017). "Noctuinae (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) part 1: Austramathes, Cosmodes, Proteuxoa, Physetica" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 73: 1–130. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.73 – via Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.
  3. Butler, Arthur Gardiner (1879). "On a small collection of Heterocerous Lepidoptera, from New Zealand". Cistula entomologica. 2: 487–511 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. Hoare, Robert J. B. (2014). A photographic guide to moths & butterflies of New Zealand. Ball, Olivier. Auckland: New Holland Publishers (NZ) Ltd. p. 125. ISBN 9781869663995. OCLC 891672034.
  5. Hudson, G. V. (1898). New Zealand moths and butterflies (Macro-lepidoptera). London: West, Newman & co. p. 8. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.32466.
  6. "Austramathes purpurea (Butlera, 1879)". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 9 July 2017.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: New Zealand moths and butterflies (Macro-lepidoptera), by George Vernon Hudson (1898)


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