About Ichneutica lithias
Ichneutica lithias was first described by Meyrick, who detailed the male of the species as follows. Male I. lithias have a wingspan of 33 mm. The head, palpi, and thorax are white, densely speckled with black and fuscous. The patagia have two faint black longitudinal streaks. The antennae are grey, with strong triangular transverse dentations that end in tufts of cilia. The abdomen is grey. The legs are dark grey, speckled with white, and banded in black and white; the spurs are white with a median black band. The forewings are moderately dilated, with a straight costa, obtuse apex, and a waved, somewhat oblique hind-margin that is rounded beneath the wing. The forewings are fuscous, irregularly suffused with grey. The veins are coarsely and broadly speckled with black and white. The forewing lines are white, slender, subdentate, and irregularly edged with blackish. There is a dark median shade on the forewing. The orbicular spot is small, round, white, with a fuscous centre and black margins. The claviform spot is very small but conspicuous, round, black, with a minute white centre. The reniform spot is oblong, white, with a fuscous centre and black margins. The subterminal line is more obscure, nearly touching the hind-margin beneath the costa, with two indistinct, rather more acute teeth below the middle of the wing. The forewing cilia are rather dark grey, thinly barred with white. The hindwings are grey, with a darker hind-marginal line. The hindwing cilia are white, with a pale grey line. This is a small moth species. Males have a wingspan between 28 and 35 mm, while females have a wingspan between 33 and 38 mm. It is not likely to be confused with closely related species, because it has distinctive kidney-shaped and circular marks ringed in white on its forewings. This species is endemic to New Zealand. In the North Island, it is only found in the Rangipo Desert. It is widespread across the South Island. In the South Island, the species inhabits shrublands and tussock grassland ranging from coastal to alpine zones. In the North Island's Rangipo Desert, specimens have been collected in native forest growing amongst volcanic dunes.
