About Glaucocharis chrysochyta
Glaucocharis chrysochyta was originally described by Meyrick as follows: Male individuals measure 11+1⁄2 to 12 mm. The head and thorax are pale ochreous. The palpi are ochreous-yellow, with a dark fuscous spot at the base, an apical half that is dark fuscous, and an internal whitish-ochreous coloration. The antennae are whitish-ochreous. The abdomen is whitish-ochreous-grey. The legs are pale whitish-ochreous. The forewings are triangular, very broad towards the posterior, with a very gently arched costa, rounded apex, oblique hindmargin, and moderately deep sinuations. They are light yellowish-ochreous, with the apex and hindmargin narrowly suffused with brownish; in one specimen, the entire basal half is irregularly suffused with brownish. A well-defined double dark fuscous transverse line runs from the costa near the base to the inner margin before the middle, curving very strongly outwards, and dentate inwards a little above the inner margin, enclosing a pale line that becomes almost clear white on the inner margin. An oblique dark fuscous mark sits on the costa beyond the middle, giving rise to an indistinctly dentate suffused brown transverse line that extends to the middle of the inner margin, which it barely reaches. This line forms the boundary of the brown suffusion in the darker specimen. On this line, rather above the middle, is a small transverse 8-shaped spot, with the upper half leaden-metallic and the lower half clear white. A slender, somewhat irregular dark fuscous transverse line runs from the costa at 2⁄3 to the inner margin at 3⁄4; the upper two-thirds curve very strongly outwards, and the lower half is nearly followed by a similar line that diverges a little at the inner margin. This line is preceded and followed on the costa by a pale yellowish spot, and the space between this line and the suffused median line is more distinctly yellow, especially below the discal spot. An oblique pale yellowish mark sits on the costa before the apex, ending in a rather metallic white dot. Three slender longitudinal leaden-metallic streaks extend from the discal spot to the hindmargin; the lowest streak does not reach the discal spot. A leaden metallic line runs within the second double transverse line from below the middle almost to the inner margin. Three small quadrate black spots sit close together on the hindmargin below the middle. The cilia are violet-metallic-grey, with a deeper basal line. The hindwings are grey, with a dark fuscous hindmarginal line. The cilia are grey-whitish, with an indistinct darker line. Hudson noted that this species is one of the smallest in its genus, and is considerably variable in the depth of its ground colour. He also pointed out that the central band is sometimes light brown rather than yellow. Glaucocharis chrysochyta is endemic to New Zealand, and can be found throughout the country. This species inhabits both dense and open native forest and brushwood. Larvae have been found living in Fabronia australis, and it is likely they feed on this moss and other moss species. It has been hypothesised that larvae pupate within the moss they feed on.
