About Tingena armigerella (Walker, 1864)
Tingena armigerella (Walker, 1864) has dark brown larvae. Walker's original description of the male adult is as follows: Male gilded yellow. Palpi are nearly twice as long as the head is broad; the second joint is much curved, and the third joint is shorter than the second. Abdomen, hind wings, and the underside are blackish cinereous. The abdomen extends a little beyond the hind wings. Hind tibiae are fringed. Fore wings are moderately broad, hardly acute, marked with many minute blackish points; the costa is blackish towards the base. Hind wings are blackish. Body length is 3 lines; wing length is 10 lines. The forewing length of the species ranges between 7.5 and 10 mm. This species is endemic to New Zealand, and is found throughout the North Island. Although several other moth species endemic to New Zealand resemble T. armigerella, this moth can be distinguished from most others by the smattering of dark scales on its mainly yellow forewings. It is visually very similar to other yellow moth species, and it has been hypothesised that any reported observations of T. armigerella in the South Island are actually misidentifications of these visually similar yellow species. This species inhabits native forest. Its larvae feed on plant litter found in Nothofagaceae forest. Larvae live between the upper layer of dry loose leaves and the lower layer of compacted moist soil. They construct a shelter from their own silk, tying two dead leaves together, and feed from this shelter.
