Asterivora chatuidea
Encyclopedia
Asterivora chatuidea is a moth
of the Choreutidae
family. It is known from New Zealand
.
The wingspan
is about 8 mm for males and 9 mm for females. The head and thorax are dark fuscous irrorated with violet-whitish scales and the antennae are blackish annulated with white. The abdomen is dark fuscous, although the segmental margins are white and there are a few scattered white scales near the extremity. The legs are fuscous. The dark blue-violet forewings are suboblong, moderate, the costa gently arched, the apex obtuse, the termen nearly straight and oblique. There are three distinct white spots on the costa and there is a pale blue-violet transverse line, as well as some violet-white irroration towards the base. There is also a transverse, sometimes double, line running from the first white spot on the costa and another running from the central costal spot. This line is broken but often well angulated at the middle. There is some violet-white irroration scattered across the outer wing and a fine subterminal line. The hindwings are dark fuscous, but darker outwardly. There is an incurved white streak, sometimes double, running from the disc to the tornus.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Choreutidae
Choreutidae
Choreutidae, or "metalmark moths," are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order whose relationships have been long disputed. It was placed previously in the superfamily Yponomeutoidea in family Glyphipterigidae and in superfamily Sesioidea. It is now considered to represent its own superfamily...
family. It is known from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 8 mm for males and 9 mm for females. The head and thorax are dark fuscous irrorated with violet-whitish scales and the antennae are blackish annulated with white. The abdomen is dark fuscous, although the segmental margins are white and there are a few scattered white scales near the extremity. The legs are fuscous. The dark blue-violet forewings are suboblong, moderate, the costa gently arched, the apex obtuse, the termen nearly straight and oblique. There are three distinct white spots on the costa and there is a pale blue-violet transverse line, as well as some violet-white irroration towards the base. There is also a transverse, sometimes double, line running from the first white spot on the costa and another running from the central costal spot. This line is broken but often well angulated at the middle. There is some violet-white irroration scattered across the outer wing and a fine subterminal line. The hindwings are dark fuscous, but darker outwardly. There is an incurved white streak, sometimes double, running from the disc to the tornus.