Aponotoreas insignis explained

Aponotoreas insignis (also known as the Alpine grassland orange) is a moth of the family Geometridae.^[1] It is endemic to New Zealand.^[2]

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1877 from specimens collected by James Hector and John Enys. Butler originally named the species Aspilates insignis.^[3] In 1986 Robin C. Craw described the new genus Aponotoreas and included A. insignis within it.

Behaviour

This moth is day flying.^[4] Adults of the species can be found on the wing between January and March.

Habitat and hosts

A. insignis prefers to inhabit tussock land on the mountain sides of the South Island. Larvae exist on species of Chionochloa and Poa.^[5]

External links

• Citizen science observations of Aponotoreas insignis
• Specimens held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum

Notes and References

1. Dugdale. J. S.. Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa. Fauna of New Zealand. 1988. 14. 170–171. 6 February 2017. 0111-5383. 27 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190127012006/https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/49008/FNZ14Dugdale1988150.pdf. dead.
2. Craw. R. C.. 1986-01-01. Review of the genus Notoreas (sensu auctorum) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Larentiinae). New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 13. 1. 131–140. 10.1080/03014223.1986.10422654. 0301-4223. free.
3. Butler. A. G.. 1877. On two collections of heterocerous Lepidoptera from New Zealand, with descriptions of new genera and species.. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1877:May-Dec.. 379–407. Biodiversity Heritage Library.
4. Book: Crowe, Andrew. Which New Zealand insect?. Penguin Books. 2017. 978-0-14-100636-9. 20. English.
5. Web site: 2011. Aponotoreas insignis (Butler, 1877). live. 2021-02-21. plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz. https://web.archive.org/web/20190323143151/https://plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz/ReportForm.aspx?RecordId=2642&Type=H&ReportType=Adv&SortBy=Alpha&Biostatus=a,c,e,n . 2019-03-23 .