Stigmella propalaea
| Stigmella propalaea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male holotype | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nepticulidae |
| Genus: | Stigmella |
| Species: | S. propalaea |
| Binomial name | |
| Stigmella propalaea (Meyrick, 1889) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Stigmella propalaea is a species of moth of the family Nepticulidae. This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1889. It is endemic to New Zealand and has only been observed at Arthur's Pass. The larvae of this species are leaf miners. Adults are on the wing in January. In 2025 this species was classified as "data deficient" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
Taxonomy
This species was described by Edward Meyrick in 1889 using a specimen collected at Arthur's Pass at 600m above sea-level. Meyrick originally named the species Nepticula propalaea. George Hudson discussed this species under that name in his 1928 publication The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand. In 1988 John S. Dugdale assigned this species to the genus Stigmella. In 1989 Hans Donner and Christopher Wilkinson agreed with this placement in their monograph on New Zealand Nepticulidae. This placement was again confirmed in a 2016 revision of the global species placed in the family Nepticulidae. However in 2025 this moth is regarded as being taxonomically unresolved.
The holotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London. This species is only known from its holotype and the specimen is in poor condition.
Description
Meyrick described the species as follows:
♀. 7mm. Head, palpi, antennæ, and thorax whitish-ochreous. Abdomen light grey. Legs whitish-ochreous, anterior pair infuscated. Forewings lanceolate; whitish-ochreous, obscurely irrorated with brownish; a dark fuscous dot on fold at 1⁄4, a second in disc before middle, and a third immediately before apex: cilia whitish-ochreous. Hindwings light grey; cilia whitish-ochreous-grey.
Distribution
It is endemic to New Zealand. This species is only known from its type locality of Arthur's Pass.
Biology and behaviour
The adult moths are on the wing in January. As at 1989 the female of this species has yet to be collected.
Conservation status
In 2025 this species was classified by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as "data deficient" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
References
- 1 2 3 Hoare, Robert J. B.; Edwards, Eric; Knox, Carey; Frost, Will; Michel, Pascale (2026). "Conservation status of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2025" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 51: 31. ISSN 2324-1713. Wikidata Q139379012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Dugdale, J. S. (1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 14: 1–269. ISBN 0477025188. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link) - 1 2 van Nieukerken, Erik; Doorenweerd, Camiel; Hoare, Robert; Davis, Donald (2016-10-31). "Revised classification and catalogue of global Nepticulidae and Opostegidae (Lepidoptera, Nepticuloidea)". ZooKeys (628): 65–246. doi:10.3897/zookeys.628.9799. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 5126388. PMID 27917038.
- 1 2 3 Meyrick, Edward (1889). "Descriptions of New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 21: 154–188. Retrieved 3 June 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- 1 2 Hudson, G. V. (1928). The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand. Wellington: Ferguson & Osborn Ltd. p. 355. OCLC 25449322.
- 1 2 3 4 Donner, Hans; Wilkinson, Christopher (1989). Nepticulidae (Insecta: Lepidoptera) (PDF). Wellington, N.Z.: Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. p. 34. ISBN 0477025382. OCLC 20709336. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- ↑ "Stigmella propalaea (Meyrick, 1889)". www.nzor.org.nz. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
- ↑ Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume two. Kingdom animalia : chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. Christchurch, N.Z.: Canterbury University Press. p. 461. ISBN 9781877257933. OCLC 973607714.