Scoparia ergatis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Scoparia ergatis |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Male | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: |
Scoparia
|
| Species: |
S. ergatis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Scoparia ergatis Meyrick, 1884
|
|
Scoparia ergatis is a small moth that lives only in New Zealand. This means you won't find it anywhere else in the world! It belongs to a group of moths called Crambidae.
How Scientists Name This Moth
A scientist named Edward Meyrick first described and named this moth in 1884. He wrote down all its details in 1885.
Sometimes, scientists aren't completely sure where a species fits in the big family tree of life. For Scoparia ergatis, there's a little bit of doubt about whether it perfectly fits into the Scoparia group. Because of this, you might sometimes see it called Scoparia (s.l.) ergatis. The "s.l." means "in a broad sense," suggesting it's generally in that group but with a small question mark.
What Does It Look Like?
This moth is quite small. Its wingspan (the distance from one wingtip to the other) is about 13 to 17 millimeters. That's roughly the length of a small fingernail!
The front wings, called forewings, are a light brownish-grey color. They have tiny, scattered specks of whitish and darker brownish-grey. These specks are not evenly spread out.
There are also two whitish lines across the forewings. The first line has a dark edge on its back side. The second line has a dark edge on its front side.
The back wings, called hindwings, are a light grey or brownish-grey. They tend to be a bit darker towards the back. You might see adult Scoparia ergatis moths flying around in January.
