Tingena ancogramma


Tingena ancogramma is a species of moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has been found in the Hen and Chicken Islands, the North Island and the South Island. Adults are on the wing in summer and autumn and inhabit open areas of forest scrubland.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1919 using a specimen collected by George Hudson at Wainuiomata in December and named Borkhausenia ancogramma. George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in his 1928 book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand also under the name Borkhausenia ancogramma. In 1939 Hudson synonymised Borkhausenia latens and Borkhausenia bellatula with this species. In 1988 J. S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Tingena and confirmed synonyms established by Hudson. When discussing Hudson's illustration of this species Dugdale argued that it should be regarded as dubious as the illustration "has a dark patch on the dorsum just before the tornus which is lacking in the holotype". The holotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.

Description

Meyrick described this species as follows:

Distribution

It is endemic to New Zealand and found in the Hen and Chickens Islands, the North Island and the South Island. It has been observed at its type locality of Wainuiomata as well as at Porirua in the Wellington region, at the Hen and Chickens Islands, Whangārei, Rotorua and at Lake Rotoroa in the South Island.

Behaviour

This adults of this species are on the wing from late summer to autumn and have been collected from December to February.

Habitat

This species inhabits open areas in forest scrubland.