The Black-lyre Leafroller Moth ("Cnephasia" jactatana) is a tortrix moth species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 (family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Tortricidae). 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...

.

It belongs to the subfamily Tortricinae

Tortricinae

The Tortricinae are the nominate subfamily of tortrix moths. Commonly referred to as leafrollers, as the larvae build shelters by folding or rolling leaves of the food plant, the tortricinae include several notable pests as well species used as biological control agents against invasive...

 and therein to tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

 Cnephasiini

Cnephasiini

The Cnephasiini are a tribe of tortrix moths.-Genera:The Cnephasiini are a tribe of tortrix moths.-Genera:The Cnephasiini are a tribe of tortrix moths.-Genera::Amphicoecia:Archicnephasia:Astrosa:Cnephasia...

. But among these, it is in fact not close enough to the type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 of Cnephasia

Cnephasia

Cnephasia is a genus of tortrix moths . It belongs to the subfamily Tortricinae and therein to the tribe Cnephasiini, of which it is the type genus.-Taxonomy and systematics:...

– Cnephasia pasiuana of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 – to properly belong in that genus. Alternatively, it has variously been referred to Batodes (= Ditula

Ditula

Ditula is a genus of moths belonging to the Tortricidae family.-Species:*Ditula angustiorana *Ditula saturana -External links:*...

) or Paedisca (= Epinotia

Epinotia

Epinotia is a very large genus of tortrix moths . It belongs to the tribe Eucosmini of subfamily Olethreutinae.-Species:166 species of Epinotia were considered valid as of 2009...

); if anything it might belong to the latter, presently circumscribed as a large and wide-ranging group of uncertain monophyly

Monophyly

In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...

. But its actual genus has yet to be determined with certainty.

The species is primarily known as a pest of Kiwifruit

Kiwifruit

The kiwifruit, often shortened to kiwi in many parts of the world, is the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa and hybrids between this and other species in the genus Actinidia....

 (Actinidia deliciosa), but the caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s feed on various other trees with fleshy fruit, such as Citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

, hawthorn

Crataegus

Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...

s (Crataegus), persimmons and ebonies

Diospyros

Diospyros is a genus of about 450–500 species of deciduous and evergreen trees. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. They are commonly known as ebony or persimmon trees...

 (Diospyros), gum trees (Eucalyptus), fuchsia

Fuchsia

Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola in 1703 by the French Minim monk and botanist, Charles Plumier...

s (Fuchsia) and grapevine

Grapevine

Grapevine is the common name for plants of the genus Vitis. Other meanings include:*Grapevine , a term often used to describe a form of communication by means of gossip or rumor, as in "heard it through the grapevine"...

s (Vitis). They primarily feed on the leaves, but can also damage the husk and fruit body.

The eggs are laid on the topside of the leaf. They prefer older leaves.

Synonyms

Junior synonyms of this species are:

• Batodes jactatana Walker, 1863
• Sciaphila flexivittana Walker, 1863
• Paedisca privatana Walker, 1863
• Paedisca voluta Felder & Rogenhoffer, 1875