Harmologa amplexana
Harmologa amplexana is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. This species was first described by Phillipp Christoph Zeller in 1875. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found from the middle of the North Island down to and including the Otago region in the South Island. It inhabits native forest as well as cultivated gardens. The larval host plants are Muehlenbeckia complexa and Olearia odorata. The larvae make webs of silk amongst the leaf litter of their hosts and feed on the same. The larvae are parasitised by the New Zealand endemic wasp Eupsenella insulana. Adults are commonly on the wing from September until April and during the day can be disturbed from native vegetation. Adults are attracted to light.
Taxonomy
This species was first described by Phillipp Christoph Zeller in 1875 and named Idiographis amplexana. In 1877, Arthur Gardiner Butler, thinking he was describing a new species, named this moth Cacoecia vilis. In 1881 Edward Meyrick placed this species in the genus Cacoecia and synonymised C. vilis. In 1883 Meyrick placed this species in the genus Harmologa. George Hudson, in this 1928 publication The butterflies and moths of New Zealand, followed Meyrick and used the name Harmologa amplexana when describing and illustrating this species. The male lectotype specimen, the provenance of which is unknown, is held at the Natural History Museum, London.Description
Hudson described this species as follows:Meyrick stated that this species differs from all other Australian and New Zealand species in the produced apex and excavated hindmargin of the forewings as well as the angulated dark streak beneath basal portion of costa.