Erechthias stilbella
Erechthias stilbella is a species of moth in the family Tineidae. It was first described by Edward Doubleday in 1843. This species is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the North and South Islands. This species inhabits native forest and bush and can also be found in domestic gardens. Larvae feed on dead plant debris or tough leaves of plants such as palms. Adults are on the wing from October until March. Adults rest on tree trunks or fences during the day.
Taxonomy
This species was first described by Edward Doubleday in 1843 using a specimen collected by A. Sinclair at Auckland and named Argyrotesia stilbella.. In 1880 Meyrick placed this species in Erechthias. In 1915 Meryick then went on to place this species in the genus Hectacma. George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in his 1928 book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand under that name. In 1988 John S. Dugdale synonymised Hectacma with the genus Erechthias and thus this species returned to the name Erechthias stilbella. The type specimen is not at the Natural History Museum, London but Dugdale states a specimen collected by Edward Meyrick and dated 3/14 is topotypic.Description
Hudson described this species as follows:Although this species is similar in appearance to E. chasmatias it differs as its markings are very differently arranged.