Ichneutica maya
Ichneutica maya is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is found in the mountains in southern half of the North Island and in the South Island. I. maya is a distinctively coloured and patterned moth and as such is unlikely to be confused with similar species. I. maya can be found in the southern half of the North Island down through the South Island. This species can be found in alpine to subalpine zones with high rainfall but in Southland this species can be found down to sea level. This life history in the wild is unknown, nor has its larval host species been confirmed. Adults are on the wing from December to March and are attracted to sugar and light traps.
Taxonomy
This species was first described by George Hudson in 1898 from a specimen collected on Mount Arthur and named Melanchra maya. The male holotype specimen is held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. In 1988 J. S. Dugdale placed this species into the Graphania genus. In 2019 Robert Hoare undertook a major review of New Zealand Noctuidae. During this review the genus Ichneutica was greatly expanded and the genus Graphania was subsumed into that genus as a synonym. As a result of this review, this species is now known as ''Ichneutica maya.''Description
Hudson described the species as follows:I. maya is a distinctively coloured and patterned moth and as such is unlikely to be confused with similar species. The adult male of this species has a wingspan of between 37 and 43 mm and the female has a wingspan of between 37 and 43 mm.