Pseudocoremia insignita, also known as the tree nettle flash, is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. It is endemic to New Zealand.
Taxonomy This species was first described by Alfred Philpott in 1930 under the name Selidosema insignita. In 1939 George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in his 1939 book A supplement to the butterflies and moths of New Zealand. In 1988 John S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Pseudocoremia. At the same time he synonymised P. pergrata into this species. However in 2003 P. pergrata was reinstated as species separate from P. insignita. The holotype was collected from Kaeo in the Far North District on 16 January 1921 by C. B. Clarke, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Description Philpott described the species as follows:
Philpott noted that the shape of the outer median band margin differed from all other New Zealand species in the (then) Selidosema genus.
Distribution This species is endemic to New Zealand and is found from Northland to Otago.
Habitat and hosts The preferred habitat of this species are native scrub and forest edges. The larval host is Urtica ferox.
Gallery
References