Microcolona limodes explained

Microcolona limodes is a species of moth in the family Elachistidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. The larvae of this moth eat the seeds of endemic Myrsine species.

Taxonomy

This species was described by Edward Meyrick in 1897 using material collected at Riccarton Bush in Christchurch during March.^{[1] [2]} George Hudson discussed this species in his 1928 publication The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand.^[3] The lectotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.

Description

Meyrick described the species as follows:

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand.^[4] Other than in Canterbury, this species has also been found at Pitt Island^[5] and Northland.^[6]

Habitat and host species

This species has been found to be present in gumland heath habitat. The larvae of this moth feed on the seeds of Myrsine australis and Myrsine salicina.^{[7] [8]}

External links

• Images of this moth

Notes and References

1. Meyrick. E. 1897. Descriptions of Australian Microlepidoptera. XVII. Elachistidae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. English. 22. 297–435. 10.5962/bhl.part.12726. 0370-047X. Biodiversity Heritage Library.
2. Book: Dugdale. J. S.. 1988. Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa. Fauna of New Zealand. 14. 1–269. 9 June 2018. 978-0477025188. 22 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190722101744/https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/26324/FNZ14Dugdale1988.pdf. dead.
3. Book: Hudson, G. V.. George Hudson (entomologist)

   . The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand. Ferguson & Osborn Ltd.. 1928. Wellington. 303. 25449322. George Hudson (entomologist).

4. 457.
5. Lincoln University Entomological Expedition to Pitt Island 10-24 January 1990. December 1991. 10182/4157.
6. Hoare. R. J. B.. February 2011. Lepidoptera of gumland heaths — a threatened and rare ecosystem of northern New Zealand. https://web.archive.org/web/20130208093939/http://ento.org.nz/nzentomologist/new_issues/NZEnto34_1_2011/Volume_34_67-76.pdf. dead. 2013-02-08. New Zealand Entomologist. 34. 1. 67–76. 10.1080/00779962.2011.9722212. 86494641. 9 June 2018.
7. Web site: PlantSynz - Invertebrate herbivore biodiversity assessment tool: Database. plant-synz.landcareresearch.co.nz. 2018-06-09.
8. Sullivan . Jon J. . Burrows . Colin J. . Dugdale . John S. . Insect predation of seeds of native New Zealand woody plants in some central South Island localities . New Zealand Journal of Botany . September 1995 . 33 . 3 . 355–364 . 10.1080/0028825X.1995.10412962 . free .