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Hydriomena arida

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Hydriomena arida
Female
Male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Hydriomena
Species:
H. arida
Binomial name
Hydriomena arida
(Butler, 1879)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Melanthia arida Butler, 1879
  • Cidaria chaotica Meyrick, 1883
  • Cidaria arida (Butler, 1879)

Hydriomena arida, also known as the Gunnera carpet moth,[3] is a species of moth in the family Geometridae.[1] It was first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1879. This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is found in both the South and Stewart Islands where it inhabits native forest. It has been observed at up to 3000 ft. Larvae feed on Gunnera monoica. Adults of this species are on the wing from December until February and are nocturnal and attracted to light. This species is regarded as being uncommon.

Taxonomy

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This species was first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1879 using specimens collected by Frederick Wollaston Hutton in Dunedin and named Melanthia arida.[4][2] In 1883 Edward Meyrick, thinking he was describing a new species, named this species as Cidaria chaotica.[5][6] Meyrick synonymised this name into Cidaria arida in 1884.[7][8] George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species under the name Hydriomena arida in both his 1898 book New Zealand moths and butterflies (Macro-lepidoptera) and his 1928 book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand.[9][10] It has been hypothesised that species belongs to another genus and so this species is also currently known as Hydriomena (s.l.) arida.[11] In 1971 John S. Dugdale suggested this species may fall within the genus Cephalissa but in 1988 kept the current placement of this species.[12][2] The male holotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[2]

Description

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Illustration of H. arida.

Hudson described this species as follows:

The expansion of the wings is 1+1⁄8 inches. The fore-wings are dark blackish-grey; there are two small cream-coloured patches on the costa at 1⁄3 and 2⁄3 continued across the wing as two curved series of small cream-coloured spots; there is a subterminal series of whitish dots. In most specimens there is a very broad paler brown median band with a rounded projection below the middle almost touching the termen; this band is traversed by numerous fine wavy dark brown transverse lines and contains a conspicuous discal dot. The hind-wings are very pale brownish-grey or creamy-grey; all the cilia are nearly black.[10]

This species is variable in appearance. Hudson goes on to say that this species can be distinguished from similar appearing species as its forewings are very darkly coloured but have a broad often paler median band.[10]

Distribution

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This species is endemic to New Zealand.[11] This species occurs in the South and Stewart Islands.[10][13] A specimen has also been collected from Arapawa Island in the Marlborough Sounds in July.[14] This species is regarded as being rare. In 1988 it was reported as being locally extinct in Dunedin.[2] However in February 2022 a specimen was observed in Port Chalmers.[15]

Habitat and hosts

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Larval host Gunnera monoica.

This species inhabits native forest and has been found at altitudes of between 1500 and 3000 ft.[10] The larval host of this species is Gunnera monoica.[3][16]

Behaviour

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The adults of this species are on the wing most commonly from October until February and attracted to light.[3][13]

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hydriomena arida.
  1. ^ a b "Hydriomena arida (Butler, 1879)". www.nzor.org.nz. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e 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: 182–183. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN 0111-5383. Wikidata Q45083134.
  3. ^ a b c Andrew Crowe (2002), Which New Zealand Insect?, Auckland: Penguin Books, p. 23, Wikidata Q120878300
  4. ^ Arthur Gardiner Butler (1879). "On a small collection of Heterocerous Lepidoptera, from New Zealand". Cistula entomologica. 2: 505. Wikidata Q104215588.
  5. ^ Edward Meyrick (September 1883). "Monograph of New Zealand Geometrina". New Zealand Journal of Science. 1: 528. Wikidata Q110691894.
  6. ^ Edward Meyrick (May 1884). "A Monograph of the New Zealand Geometrina". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 16: 76–77. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q109615359.
  7. ^ Edward Meyrick (1884). "Supplement to a monograph of the New Zealand Geometrina". New Zealand Journal of Science. 2: 234. Wikidata Q115203351.
  8. ^ Edward Meyrick (1885). "Supplement to a monograph of the New Zealand Geometrina". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 17: 64. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q111032066.
  9. ^ George Vernon Hudson (1898), New Zealand moths and butterflies (Macro-lepidoptera), Illustrator: George Hudson, London, pp. 50–51, doi:10.5962/BHL.TITLE.7912, OCLC 980865393, Wikidata Q19073637{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ a b c d e Hudson, G. V. (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington: Ferguson and Osborn Limited, p. 100, LCCN 88133764, OCLC 25449322, Wikidata Q58593286Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ^ a b Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia: chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 459. ISBN 978-1-877257-93-3. OCLC 973607714. OL 25288394M. Wikidata Q45922947.
  12. ^ 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: 27. ISSN 0078-7515. Wikidata Q64006453.
  13. ^ a b George Howes (1913). "Notes on the entomology of Stewart Island". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 46: 99. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q131531139.
  14. ^ D. E. Gaskin; M. W. Cawthorn (1964). "Lepidoptera recorded from Arapawa Island, Marlborough Sounds, during 1963-64". Records of the Dominion Museum. 5 (2): 4. ISSN 0373-7233. Wikidata Q131531278.
  15. ^ Nikkel, Luca (2022-02-26). "Gunnera Carpet (Hydriomena arida)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  16. ^ B. H. Patrick (March 1988). "Ecological studies of a marine terrace sequence in the Waitutu Ecological District of southern New Zealand. Part 4: Insecta: Lepidoptera and Coleoptera". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 18 (1): 87. doi:10.1080/03036758.1988.10421695. ISSN 0303-6758. Wikidata Q54743554.
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