Stigmella cypracma

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1916 using a female specimen collected by George Hudson in November in Karori and named Nepticula cypracma. For this he used a specimen collected by Hudson at Mount Taranaki. In 1928 Hudson described and illustrated the species under the name Nepticula cypracma and also describing it under the name Nepticula perissopa. However he expresses doubt at the distinction between the two species. In 1989 Hans Donner and Christopher Wilkinson synonymised Stigmella perissopa with Stigmella cypracma''. The holotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London. == Description ==

Watt described the empty egg shell of this species as being white and shiny. It is wafer-like, oval, slightly broader at the anterior end, and domed above. == Distribution ==

This species is endemic to New Zealand. Other than the type locality of Wellington, this species or its mines have been collected from Northland, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Whanganui, and Havelock. Watt regarded this species as being common in the Wellington Botanic Garden. == Life cycle ==

Eggs of this species are laid singly and normally with only one or two eggs on the upper side of the leaf. The egg is firmly cemented to the leaf, and persists at the commencement of the mine for many weeks filled with frass. Once hatched the larvae mine the leaf and create a long narrow gallery terminating in an expanded blotch, and is constructed immediately beneath the upper cuticle of the leaf. Its general direction is, as a rule, from within towards the margin of the leaf. The larva mines dorsum uppermost. Frass is plentiful, finely granular, black, and in the gallery is deposited in the central three-fourths of the mine. The last act of the larva is to prepare an outlet at the margin of the blotch, and just within this it constructs its cocoon. The cocoon is constructed within the blotch close against its outer margin. The pupal duration lasts about fifteen days. When the imago is ready to emerge the pupa is thrust out the anterior end of the cocoon and through the slit in the under-cuticle, the anal segments being retained within the cocoon. Emergence takes place on the under-surface of the leaf. ==Biology and behaviour==

Larvae have been recorded from May to October and in December. This makes S. cypracma one of only two species within New Zealand that pupate within their mine. Cocoons with live pupae have been found in May, June, August, September and December. Adults have been recorded on the wing in February and from September to November. There are two generations per year. == Habitat and host species ==

The larvae feed on Brachyglottis repanda. ==Threats==

The larvae of this moth is frequently preyed upon by minute hymenopterous parasites. ==References==