Aponotoreas incompta facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aponotoreas incompta |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Male specimen | |
 |
|
| Female specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Synonyms | |
|
The Aponotoreas incompta is a small, interesting moth. It belongs to a group of moths called Geometridae. This moth is special because it is endemic to New Zealand. This means it is found only in New Zealand and nowhere else in the world!
Contents
About the Aponotoreas incompta Moth
How Scientists Named This Moth
This moth was first described in 1918 by a scientist named Alfred Philpott. He first gave it the name Notoreas incompta. Later, in 1986, another scientist, R. C. Craw, created a new group of moths called Aponotoreas. He then placed this moth into that new group. That is why its full scientific name is now Aponotoreas incompta.
What the Moth Looks Like
When Alfred Philpott first described this moth, he noted something interesting. He said that Aponotoreas incompta looks very similar in color to another moth, A. orphnaea. However, there are small differences. The A. incompta moth has shorter parts on its antennae that look like combs. It also has less hair on its palps, which are small feeler-like parts near its mouth.
Where This Moth Lives
The very first Aponotoreas incompta specimen was found in January. It was collected by R. Gibb, who worked at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. He found it in the Kepler Mountains at a height of about 900 meters (about 2,950 feet).
These moths have also been found in other areas of New Zealand. You can find them around Arthur's Pass and in the Hunter Mountains. The A. incompta moth is mostly known as a mountain species in Fiordland. But it has also been seen in the Old Man Range area of Central Otago.
What This Moth Eats
George Hudson, another scientist, observed these moths at Arthur's Pass. He noticed that A. incompta moths often visited a plant called Helichrysum. However, he did not specifically say if this was the plant the moth's larvae (baby moths) ate. Later, scientists discovered that the larvae of this moth eat plants from the Dracophyllum species.
