Circoxena ditrocha
Encyclopedia
Circoxena ditrocha is a moth
of the Cosmopterigidae
family, although some sources place it in the Blastodacnidae family. It is endemic to New Zealand
, where it is relatively widespread from Auckland to Invercargill.
The wingspan
is about 12.5 mm. The forewings are narrow with an acute apex. They are brownish-ochreous with golden reflections. The entire wing is broadly streaked dark brownish-black, with two large clear white fine ring shaped markings. The hindwings are greyish-ochreous with cilia of the same colour. The adult has been found in December and
March, and collected from the edges of forest or scrub.
The host plant is unknown, but the larva might be a seed borer.
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 Cosmopterigidae
Cosmopterigidae
Cosmopterigidae is a family of insects in the Lepidoptera order. These are small moths with narrow wings whose tiny larvae feed internally on the leaves, seeds, stems, etc of their host plants. There are about 1,500 described species...
family, although some sources place it in the Blastodacnidae family. It is endemic to 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...
, where it is relatively widespread from Auckland to Invercargill.
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 12.5 mm. The forewings are narrow with an acute apex. They are brownish-ochreous with golden reflections. The entire wing is broadly streaked dark brownish-black, with two large clear white fine ring shaped markings. The hindwings are greyish-ochreous with cilia of the same colour. The adult has been found in December and
March, and collected from the edges of forest or scrub.
The host plant is unknown, but the larva might be a seed borer.