CECIDOSIDAE ³

Xanadoses nielseni (Hoare & Dugdale, 2003). Endemic. Rare.

New Zealand's only member of the family Cecidosidae.

Life history ³

The larvae of this moth mine the bark of host plants Weinmannia racemosa, W. silvicola, Nothofagus fusca, Myrsine salicina, and Quintinia serrata, resulting in "scribble" patterns being formed on the bark of these trees.

According to Hoare, the favoured hostplant around Auckland, based on old bark mines, seems to be Quintinia, whilst another potential host nearby would be Knightia excelsa.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) dr_robert, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by dr_robert
2. (c) Tony Steer, all rights reserved, uploaded by Tony Steer
3. (c) Tony Steer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalist NZ taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CUIC Insect Images
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants

iNaturalist NZ Map