XYLORYCTIDAE: Timber Moths ⁴

Izatha churtoni (Dugdale, 1988). F.L. 11 mm. Endemic. Widespread & Common.

Habitat, seasonality and behaviour ⁵

Adults are found mainly from October to March in native forest and shrublands. Rests on tree-trunks by day, are nocturnal and come to light.

Life History ⁵

The larvae feed on dead rotten wood of a variety of trees and shrubs, making tunnels and leaving frass (droppings) held together by silk. They pupate in the feeding place in a silken cocoon.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Giverny, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Giverny
2. no rights reserved, uploaded by Zoe Quested
3. (c) Tony Steer, all rights reserved, uploaded by Tony Steer
4. Adapted by Tony Steer from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izatha_churtoni
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
• Fauna Series of NZ 65: Izatha
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants

iNaturalist NZ Map