Zelleria maculata

Zelleria maculata
Holotype specimen held at Auckland Museum[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Yponomeutidae
Genus: Zelleria
Species:
Z. maculata
Binomial name
Zelleria maculata
Philpott, 1930

Zelleria maculata is a moth species of the family Yponomeutidae.[2] This species was described by Alfred Philpott in 1930. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found on both the North and South Islands. This species inhabits native forest and prefers interior rather than edge habitat. Larvae feed on species of endangered mistletoe, including Peraxilla tetrapetala and Peraxilla colensoi, first by mining their leaves and then by consuming parts of flowers or leaves. By feeding on flower parts Z. maculata larvae affect the production of seeds of its endangered hosts. Adults are on the wing from August until February and likely have one brood a year. Adult moths rest in a steep angled head down tail up posture. A parasitic wasp in the genus Campoplex predates the larvae of Z. maculata.

  1. ^ "Zelleria maculata". Auckland War Memorial Museum. 22 November 2002. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  2. ^ Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia: chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 465. ISBN 978-1-877257-93-3. OCLC 973607714. OL 25288394M. Wikidata Q45922947.