Uresiphita polygonalis

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Amphiesmenoptera
Ordo: Lepidoptera
Subordo: Glossata
Cladus: Coelolepida
Cladus: Myoglossata
Cladus: Neolepidoptera
Infraordo: Heteroneura
Cladus: Eulepidoptera
Cladus: Ditrysia
Cladus: Apoditrysia
Cladus: Obtectomera
Superfamilia: Pyraloidea

Familia: Crambidae
Subfamilia: Pyraustinae
Tribus: Pyraustini
Genus: Uresiphita
Species: Uresiphita polygonalis
Subspecies (2): U. p. maorialis – U. p. ornithopteralis – U. p. polygonalis
Name

Uresiphita polygonalis

resiphita polygonalis is a moth of the family Crambidae. The species was described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in the Pacific, including Hawaii and New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Europe and northern and southern Africa.[1][2]

The wingspan is about 27 mm. Adults range in color from green to red.

Larval food plants are mainly quinolizidine-bearing tribes of Fabaceae, (Ulex europaeus, Genista sp., Sarothamnus sp., Sophoreae sp., Sophora tomentosa, Carmichaeliae and Genisteae).[1][3] In Hawaii they have been recorded on Acacia koa and Sophora chrysophylla. They feed gregariously among webbed leaves.

Subspecies
Uresiphita polygonalis maorialis

Uresiphita polygonalis polygonalis
Uresiphita polygonalis virescens (Butler, 1881) (Hawaii)
Uresiphita polygonalis maorialis (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875) (New Zealand)

Uresiphita polygonalis maorialis

This subspecies is endemic to New Zealand where it is also known as the kowhai moth.[4][5] It is sometimes referred to under the species name Uresiphita maorialis.[6] This subspecies occurs throughout New Zealand and its larvae feed on the endemic kowhai species as well as introduced tree lupin.
References

De Prins, J. & De Prins, W. (2017). "Uresiphita polygonalis (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)". Afromoths. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
africanmoths.net
Leen, Rosemary (1997). "Larval hosts of Uresiphita, Hübner (Crambidae)", Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 51 (2): 139-148.
Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume two. Kingdom Animalia: Chaetognatha, Ecdysozoa, Ichnofossils. Vol. 2. Christchurch, N.Z.: Canterbury University Press. p. 458. ISBN 9781877257933. OCLC 973607714.
Horne, John Early ; photographs by Don (2009). Know your New Zealand-- native insects & spiders. Auckland, N.Z.: New Holland. p. 156. ISBN 978-1869662530.
"Kowhai moth (Uresiphita maorialis)". iNaturalist NZ. Retrieved 2019-04-03.