Sabatinca quadrijuga facts for kids

The Sabatinca quadrijuga is a tiny moth that lives only in New Zealand. It belongs to a very old family of moths called Micropterigidae. A scientist named Edward Meyrick first described this special moth in 1912.

What Does the Sabatinca quadrijuga Look Like?

This small moth has a wingspan of about 13 millimeters. That's roughly half an inch! Its head is a light grey color. The antennae, which are like feelers, are dark brown.

Colors and Patterns of Its Wings

The body part behind its head, called the thorax, has a purplish color. The main part of its body, the abdomen, is grey.

Its front wings are a deep purple color. They also have shiny, coppery-golden patches mixed in. The edges of the wings near the body are darker and look a bit bluish. You can see four yellowish-white spots along the front edge of each front wing. These spots are bigger towards the body and get smaller towards the wing tip. There's also a tiny dot near the very tip of the wing. The fuzzy edges of the wings, called cilia, are grey-white with some dark grey lines.

The back wings are a violet-grey color. They get darker towards the tips. The cilia on the back wings are also grey-white, with some grey smudges along the front edge.

Images for kids

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  An illustration of S. quadrijuga by George Hudson.