#stathmopoda

[bugsfromtokyo]

I want to get familiar with moth families.

[drhoz]

#3799 - Stathmopoda horticola - Orchard Featherfoot

A pair romantically entangled, anyway.

"Orchard-dwelling Beam-leg", named after where they were found and their posture at rest with the legs raised and extended. First described in 1988 by NZ Entomologist John S. Dugdale (1934 – 2020). I think I picked up a book by him while I was in New Zealand, at "The Bookshop at the End of the World".

Endemic to NZ, and previously misidentified as Stathmopoda skelloni, another NZ endemic known since 1880. Both species are widespread on the islands.

The caterpillars feed on seeds and fruit surfaces from silken shelters, and do minor damage to Actinidia deliciosa (kiwifruit), Rubus species (blackberries etc), as well as species in the treedaisy genus Olearia.

Bushy Beach, Oamaru, Aotearoa New Zealand.