About Ichneutica chlorodonta
George Hampson first provided the original description of this species, which reads as follows: Female. Head and thorax are bright reddish-brown, mixed with purple-grey—this mixture is especially prominent on the patagia, and the tegulae have a black line near their tips; abdomen is reddish-brown. Fore wing is bright reddish-brown mixed with purple-grey and some olive-green; the subbasal line is double, black and filled with purple, dentate, bent inwards toward the base at vein 1, with an oblique white striga beyond it across the cell and an olive-green patch above vein 1; the antemedial line is black, outlined on the inner side by purple, slightly angled outwards below the costa and excurved below the cell; the claviform spot is large, outlined by black and white above and at its extremity; the orbicular and reniform spots are large, with brown and green centres and white rings outlined by black; the orbicular spot is a somewhat oblique oval, and the reniform spot has a curved whitish striga in its centre; the postmedial line is black, outlined on the outer side by purple, double at the costa, bent outwards below the costa, then minutely dentate, incurved below vein 3, with some whitish points beyond it on the costa; the sub-terminal line is white, with olive-green suffusion before it except toward the costa and inner margin, and outlined on the outer side by black, incurved below the costa, angled outwards at vein 7 and dentate to the termen at veins 4 and 3; there is a fine waved black terminal line. Hind wing is red-brown with a fine pale line at the base of the cilia; the underside is whitish, thickly sprinkled with red-brown, with a dark discoidal spot and an obliquely curved postmedial line. For aberration 1: Head and thorax are olive-green mixed with purple-grey; abdomen is brown mixed with whitish; fore wing is purple-grey mixed with olive-green and has no reddish-brown colouring; hind wing is paler. This species is highly variable in the colouration and markings of its forewings. Several species resemble I. chlorodonta, including I. subcyprea and a Westland form Robert Hoare referred to as I. skelloni s.l. in his 2019 publication. I. chlorodonta can be distinguished from I. subcyprea by a few traits: male I. chlorodonta have slightly longer pectinations, the antemedian and postmedian lines have a distinctive lilac-grey to lead grey colour, there is green scaling between the antemedian and postmedian lines, the hindwings are much darker brown, and the underside of the hindwings is paler. Male I. chlorodonta have a wingspan of 31 to 36 mm, while female I. chlorodonta have a wingspan of 27 to 34 mm. This species is endemic to New Zealand, and can be found throughout the North Island, South Island, and Stewart Island. It inhabits native forest and shrubland.
