OECOPHORIDAE: Concealer Moths ⁵

Tingena chloradelpha (Meyrick , 1905). F.L. 7 mm. Endemic. Common.

Habitat, seasonality and behaviour ⁵

According to Hudson (1928) "It frequents gardens and other cultivated places, very frequently entering houses and can be extremely abundant. The perfect insect appears in October till December."

Life history ⁵

The larva is said to live through the winter and is subterranean in its habits, feeding on roots of grass amongst which it constructs numerous silken tubes. The puapa is enclosed in a frail white silken cocoon situated in one of the burrows formed by the larva (Hudson, 1928).

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Steve Kerr, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Steve Kerr
2. (c) Aalbert Rebergen, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Aalbert Rebergen
3. George Vernon Hudson , no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fig_4_MA_I437891_TePapa_Plate-XXX-The-butterflies_full_(cropped).jpg
4. (c) Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research , some rights reserved (CC BY), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tingena_chloradelpha_lectotype.jpg
5. (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

iNaturalist NZ Map