About Erechthias capnitis (Turner, 1918)
The scientific name of this species is Erechthias capnitis (Turner, 1918). Turner’s original description of the species is as follows: Male specimens measure 17–18 mm. The head is fuscous-whitish. Palpi are 2+1⁄2 times the length of the head; they are fuscous, with a whitish inner surface. Antennae are pale fuscous; in males, each antenna segment is enlarged at its tip, and is minutely ciliated. The thorax is fuscous. The abdomen is ochreous-whitish, with fuscous suffusion across its dorsal surface. Legs are fuscous; tibiae and tarsi are marked with alternating ochreous-whitish rings, and the posterior pair of legs is almost entirely ochreous-whitish. Forewings are moderate in size, not dilated, with a strongly arched costa, pointed apex, and very obliquely rounded termen. The forewing ground color is ochreous-whitish, rather densely speckled with fuscous scales. Areas lacking this speckling form an obscure pale dorsal streak, which contains a few fuscous scales near the wing margin. Very obscure fuscous discal dots are positioned at one-third and two-thirds along the wing. Forewing cilia are fuscous. Hindwings and their cilia are grey-whitish. This species is distributed on Norfolk Island, and is widespread across the northern half of New Zealand’s North Island. It was first recorded in New Zealand in 1977. As of 2024, it has also been recorded in New Plymouth and Wellington.
