Epiphryne undosata
Female
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Geometridae
Genus:
Epiphryne
Species:
E. undosata
Binomial name
Epiphryne undosata
(Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Cidaria undosata Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875
  • Epiphryne citrinata Warren, 1903
  • Venusia undosata (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875)

Epiphryne undosata, also known as the lacebark looper, is a moth of the family Geometridae.[1] It is endemic to New Zealand and is found on both the North and South Islands. It inhabits native forest. The larvae feed on plant species in the genera Hoheria and Plagianthus. They pupate amongst dead leaves in a silk cocoon. The adult moths have been observed on the wing all year round but are most commonly seen from November until February. The adult moths are extremely variable in both their colour intensity and wing pattern.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Baron Cajetan von Felder, Rudolf Felder and Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer in 1875 using a specimen collected in Nelson by T. R. Oxley and named Cidaria undosata.[3] In 1884 Edward Meyrick placed this species in the genus Epiphryne.[4] However George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in both 1898 and 1828 under the name Venusia undosata.[5][6] In 1988 J. S. Dugdale discussed this species under the name Epiphryne undosata.[2] The syntype is held at the Natural History Museum, London.[2]

Description

Larva of E. undosata.

Hudson described the larva of this species as follows:

slightly over 1⁄2 inch in length, rather stout, green, paler underneath, with the skin slightly wrinkled; the head is ochreous; there is a broad dull crimson dorsal line containing a central black bar on each segment; two or three rows of conspicuous black warts emitting short black bristles, and a very indistinct greyish lateral line.[6]

Robert Hoare pointed out that white stripe along the back of the larva helps camouflage it as it resembles the leaf vein on the leaves on some of its host plants.[7]

Hudson described the adult of the species as follows:

The expansion of the wings is hardly an inch. All the wings arc pale yellow with a variable number of fine jagged reddish-brown transverse lines, which are usually most distinct towards the termen. The fore-wings have a broad band of reddish-brown along the costal edge ; a blackish dot above the middle just touching the costal band, and a small brown mark near the apex. The hind-wings have a minute black dot a little above the middle.[5]

The adult moths are variable in both colour intensity and pattern.[6]

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[8][9] It can be found in both the North and South Islands.[6] It is regarded as being locally common.[7]

Habitat

This species inhabits native forest, particularly riverine forest, and has been observed in numbers near lace-bark trees.[7][5][6] It has also been observed Kunzea ericoides forest.[10]

Life history and behaviour

The eggs of this species are greenish in colour and hatch after approximately two weeks.[11] Larvae are active and feed on the leaves and seeds of their host plants during the New Zealand spring and summer.[7][6] The larvae pupate amongst dead leaves with the pupa being enclosed in a delicate silken cocoon.[6] Adults have been observed on the wing all year but can be seen most commonly from November until February.[6] The adults are nocturnal, are attracted to light and have been collected via light traps.[7][12]

Host plants and parasites

Larval host plant Hoheria glabrata.

Larval host plants of this species include Hoheria glabrata, Hoheria populnea, Hoheria sexstylosa, Plagianthus regius, and Plagianthus betulinus.[13][6] Adult E. undosata feed from the flowers and assist with the pollination of Dracophyllum acerosum, Hoheria lyallii, and Veronica salicifolia.[13][14] The larvae of E. undosata have been parasitised by the wasp Meteorus pulchricornis.[15]

Conservation status

This species is regarded as "not threatened".[16]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Epiphryne undosata.
  1. 1 2 "Epiphryne undosata (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875) - Biota of NZ". biotanz.landcareresearch.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  2. 1 2 3 John Stewart Dugdale (23 September 1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa". Fauna of New Zealand. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 14: 179. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN 0111-5383. Wikidata Q45083134.
  3. ↑ von Felder, Baron Cajetan; Felder, Rudolf; Rogenhofer, Alois Friedrich (1875). "Lepidoptera". Reise der österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde. (Zoologischer Theil.). pt.9:Bd.2:Abt.2 Atlas: pl. CXXVIII, Fig 2 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. ↑ Edward Meyrick (May 1884). "A Monograph of the New Zealand Geometrina". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 16: 60. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q109615359.
  5. 1 2 3 George Vernon Hudson (1898), New Zealand moths and butterflies (Macro-lepidoptera), Illustrator: George Hudson, London, p. 54, doi:10.5962/BHL.TITLE.7912, OCLC 980865393, Wikidata Q19073637{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 George Vernon Hudson (1928), The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, Illustrator: George Hudson, Wellington: Ferguson and Osborn Limited, p. 106, LCCN 88133764, OCLC 25449322, Wikidata Q58593286
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Robert J. B. Hoare (2014). A Photographic Guide to Moths & Butterflies of New Zealand. Illustrator: Olivier Jean-Philippe Ball. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-86966-399-5. Wikidata Q59396160.
  8. ↑ "Cidaria undosata Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ Dugdale, John; Hutcheson, John. "Invertebrate values of kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) stands, Gisborne Region" (PDF). Science for Conservation. 55: Appendices.
  11. ↑ David Edward Gaskin (1966). "The butterflies and common moths of New Zealand". New Zealand: 129–130. Wikidata Q115000559.
  12. ↑ Patrrick, B. H.; Archibald, R. D. (January 1988). "Lepidoptera light-trapped at Owaka, South Otago". New Zealand Entomologist. 11 (1): 70–72. doi:10.1080/00779962.1988.9722541. ISSN 0077-9962.
  13. 1 2 "Epiphryne undosata (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875)". plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  14. ↑ Primack, Richard B. (1983-07-01). "Insect pollination in the New Zealand mountain flora". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 21 (3): 317–333. doi:10.1080/0028825x.1983.10428561. ISSN 0028-825X.
  15. ↑ "Factsheet: Basket-cocoon parasitoid - Meteorus pulchricornis". nzacfactsheets.landcareresearch.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  16. ↑ "Oceana Gold New Zealand Limited Consent Application Part 2" (PDF). www.orc.govt.nz. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
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