Austrocidaria similata explained

Austrocidaria similata is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It endemic to New Zealand.

Taxonomy

It was first described by Francis Walker in 1862 using a specimen obtained by William Colenso and named Cidaria similata.^[1] The holotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.^[2]

Distribution

Austrocidaria similata is endemic to New Zealand.^[3] This species is found on the Auckland Islands, Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku, Snares Islands, the Chatham Islands and mainland New Zealand, Stewart Island / Rakiura and Codfish Island / Whenua Hou.^{[4] [5]}

Biology and behaviour

Adults are on wing in December, February, May and September.^[6] The larvae feed on Coprosma species.^[7]

External links

• Holotype specimen of species

Notes and References

1. Walker. Francis. 1862. Part XXV: Geometrites (continued). List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum.. en. 25. 1281–1477. Biodiversity Heritage Library.
2. Dugdale. J. S.. 1988. Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa. Fauna of New Zealand. 14. 176. 24 September 2019. 27 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190127012448/https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/26324/FNZ14Dugdale1988.pdf. dead.
3. Web site: Austrocidaria similata (Walker, 1862). www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. 2017-08-23.
4. Patrick. B. H.. 1997. Codfish Island moths.. The Weta. 20. 1. 17–20. 10.1.1.728.6325.
5. Marris. J. W. M.. 2000-06-01. The beetle (Coleoptera) fauna of the Antipodes Islands, with comments on the impact of mice; and an annotated checklist of the insect and arachnid fauna. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 30. 2. 169–195. 10.1080/03014223.2000.9517616. 0303-6758. 10182/5721. 84422117. free.
6. Lyford. Brian M.. 1994. Lepidoptera and Trichoptera from Paroa, near Greymouth, New Zealand. New Zealand Entomologist. 17. 1. 46–51. 10.1080/00779962.1994.9721984. 0077-9962. 10.1.1.728.7273.
7. Department of Conservation . July 2005 . Crown Pastoral Land Tenure Review - Lake Hawea part 1. Land Information New Zealand . 22 August 2017 .