Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Cosmopterigidae Scientific name Thectophila acmotypa | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Species T. acmotypa Rank Genus | |
Thectophila is a genus of moths in the Cosmopterigidae family, although some sources place it in the Blastodacnidae family. The genus contains only one species, Thectophila acmotypa. It is endemic to New Zealand, where it is only known from the Arthur's Pass.
The wingspan is about 12.5 mm. All wings are lanceolate, with acutely pointed apices. The forewings are creamy white, narrowly edged with ochreous, a black streak at the apex terminates in a tuft of black cilia. The remaining cilia are whitish. The adults appear in February and can be found amongst rough herbage on mountainsides.
Nothing is known about its biology or host plant.
Taxonomy
Elachista plagiaula was originally described as a Thectophila species.
References
Thectophila Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA