PTEROPHORIDAE: Plume Moths ⁵

Pterophorus monospilalis (Walker, 1864). Endemic.

Habitat, seasonality and behaviour ⁶

Native forest; occasionally parks or gardens. Adults are found mostly between November and February, but sometimes as late as May. They may be disturbed from vegetation in the forest by day, and come to light at night.

Life history ⁶

Larvae feed fully exposed on the leaves of Pseudopanax spp., or occasionally ivy, and are rather sluggish in their movements; they are green and clothed in long hair-like reddish-brown setae. The pupa is attached to the leaf by silk without a cocoon.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Jon Sullivan, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/9138294357/
2. (c) Dougal Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dougal Townsend
3. George Vernon Hudson , no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fig_18_MA_I437622_TePapa_Plate-XXIII-The-butterflies_full_(cropped).jpg
4. George Vernon Hudson , no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fig_5_MA_I437622_TePapa_Plate-XXIII-The-butterflies_full_(cropped).jpg
5. Adapted by Tony Steer from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterophorus_monospilalis
6. (c) Tony Steer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalist NZ taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CUIC Insect Images
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants

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