Metacrias strategica
Encyclopedia
Metacrias strategica is a species of moth
of the Arctiidae
family. It is found in New Zealand
, where it is known from the southern part of the South Island. It is found from coastal and forest-edge sites to the montane zone.
Adults males are brightly coloured and diurnal, while females are buff coloured and extremely short-winged. They remain within their cocoon for mating and egg-laying.
The larvae are polyphagous on grasses and herbs. They are hairy and brown. The larvae appear to overwinter in the larval and pupal stages, the adults having only a very brief life span of approximately 21 days confined to the summer months. Early instars feed during warm periods. The last larval instar lives in the cold winter months of June to August and is inactive and overwinters until warmer spring weather occurs. Because of individual variations in the duration of the larval instars, pupae too may overwinter.
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 Arctiidae
Arctiidae
Arctiidae is a large and diverse family of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species. This family includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths , which usually have bright colours, footmen , lichen moths and wasp moths...
family. It is found in 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 known from the southern part of the South Island. It is found from coastal and forest-edge sites to the montane zone.
Adults males are brightly coloured and diurnal, while females are buff coloured and extremely short-winged. They remain within their cocoon for mating and egg-laying.
The larvae are polyphagous on grasses and herbs. They are hairy and brown. The larvae appear to overwinter in the larval and pupal stages, the adults having only a very brief life span of approximately 21 days confined to the summer months. Early instars feed during warm periods. The last larval instar lives in the cold winter months of June to August and is inactive and overwinters until warmer spring weather occurs. Because of individual variations in the duration of the larval instars, pupae too may overwinter.