Houdinia flexissima
Encyclopedia
Houdinia flexilissima is a species of moth
of the Batrachedridae
family. It is only known from peatlands in the North Island of New Zealand
.
The larvae are extremely narrow. They mine
and pupate in the living stems of Sporadanthus ferrugineus, a large endemic rush.
Because of its morphological distinctiveness, as well as threats to the habitat of its very local host plant, H. flexilissima is considered a species of high conservation status.
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 Batrachedridae
Batrachedridae
Batrachedridae is a small family of moths. These are small, slender moths which rest with the wings wrapped tightly around the body. The taxonomy of this and related groups is often disputed...
family. It is only known from peatlands in the North Island of 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 larvae are extremely narrow. They mine
Leaf miner
Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths , sawflies and flies , though some beetles and wasps also exhibit this behavior.Like Woodboring beetles, leaf...
and pupate in the living stems of Sporadanthus ferrugineus, a large endemic rush.
Because of its morphological distinctiveness, as well as threats to the habitat of its very local host plant, H. flexilissima is considered a species of high conservation status.