COPROMORPHIDAE: Tropical Fruitworm Moths ⁶

Isonomeutis amauropa (Meyrick, 1888). Endemic. Common.

A very distinctive and active moth during the daytime.

Habitat, seasonality and behaviour ⁷

It is on the wing in native forest during spring through summer (September to February). They fly by day in sunshine, enter houses regularly and can be attracted to artificial light in small numbers.

Life history ⁷

Larvae live under bark of trees with flaking bark such as rimu and beech, where they feed on scale insects, such as the sooty beech scale (Ultracoelostoma assimile). They pupate in a tough cocoon under the bark.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Simon Nicholas, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Simon Nicholas
2. (c) Jacob Littlejohn, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Jacob Littlejohn
3. (c) Tony Steer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Tony Steer
4. George Vernon Hudson , no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fig_22_MA_I437906_TePapa_Plate-XLV-The-butterflies_full_(cropped).jpg
5. George Vernon Hudson , no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fig_23_MA_I437906_TePapa_Plate-XLV-The-butterflies_full_(cropped).jpg
6. Adapted by Tony Steer from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isonomeutis_amauropa
7. (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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