Tingena penthalea

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Tingena penthalea
Male lectotype
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Oecophoridae
Genus: Tingena
Species:
T. penthalea
Binomial name
Tingena penthalea
(Meyrick, 1905)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Borkhausenia penthalea Meyrick, 1905

Tingena penthalea is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae.[2] It is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in Wellington and the Tararua Range. The adults of this species are on the wing from December until February.

Taxonomy[edit]

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1905 using three specimens collected in Wellington.[3] Meyrick originally named the species Borkhausenia penthalea.[3] In 1915 Meyrick discussed this species under the same name.[4] In 1926 Alfred Philpott discussed and illustrated the genitalia of the male of this species.[5] In 1928 George Hudson also discussed and illustrated this species in his book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand.[6] In 1988 J. S. Dugdale placed this species within the genus Tingena.[2] The male lectotype is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[2]

Description[edit]

T. penthalea as illustrated by George Hudson.

Meyrick described this species as follows:

♂ ♀. 15-17 mm. Head pale brownish-ochreous, whitish-sprinkled. Palpi ochreous-whitish, second joint with basal half dark fuscous and a subapical ring of dark fuscous irroration, terminal joint with subbasal and subapical rings of dark fuscous irroration. Antennae grey, ciliations of ♂ 1. Thorax pale brownish-ochreous sprinkled with fuscous, anteriorly suffused with dark fuscous. Abdomen light grey. Fore-wings elongate, costa moderately arched, apex obtuse, termen very obliquely rounded ; whitish-ochreous, irrorated with light brownish, with some dark fuscous scales towards margins, sometimes forming distinct patches of dark suffusion on costa at base, 14, and middle ; an oblique dark fuscous mark above dorsum before middle ; discal stigmata crescentic, dark fuscous, hollow beneath, often ill-defined ; a moderately broad subterminal fuscous or brown fascia, irrorated with dark fuscous, narrowed towards costa and on tornus : cilia whitish-ochreous irrorated with fuscous, at tornus with a darker bar above a pale spot. Hind-wings light grey, darker towards apex ; cilia grey-whitish, with grey basal shade.[3]

This species variable in appearance with the brown patch of the forewings sometimes dividing into two distinct spots.[6] The ground colour of this species also varies with some specimens being whiter than others.[6] Also the discal spots may be more orange-brown coloured in some specimens.[6]

Distribution[edit]

This species is endemic to New Zealand and has been observed in Wellington, including on Kapiti Island, and in the Tararua Range.[1][6][7] It was regarded by Hudson as a rare species.[6]

Behaviour[edit]

The adults of this species are on the wing from December until February.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia: chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 462. ISBN 978-1-877257-93-3. OCLC 973607714. OL 25288394M. Wikidata Q45922947.
  2. ^ 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: 104. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN 0111-5383. Wikidata Q45083134.
  3. ^ a b c Edward Meyrick (15 July 1905). "XII. Notes on New Zealand Lepidoptera". Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London. 53 (2): 239. doi:10.1111/J.1365-2311.1905.TB02451.X. ISSN 0035-8894. Wikidata Q54553180.
  4. ^ E. Meyrick (12 July 1915). "Revision of New Zealand Tineina". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 47: 213. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q63123349.
  5. ^ Alfred Philpott (1926). "List of New Zealand species of Borkhausenia (Oecophoridae: Lepidoptera), including new species". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 56: 399–413. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q110157185.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g George Vernon Hudson (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington: Ferguson and Osborn Limited, p. 269, LCCN 88133764, OCLC 25449322, Wikidata Q58593286
  7. ^ "Tingena penthalea". Auckland Museum Collections Online. 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.